FCC Poised To Impose Net Neutrality Rules, Today

FCC Chairman, Julius Genachowski has the votes he needs to impose net neutrality rules on the internet, so this is a fait accompli:

The rules would prohibit phone and cable companies from abusing their control over broadband connections to discriminate against rival content or services, such as Internet phone calls or online video, or play favorites with Web traffic.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski now has the three votes needed for approval, despite firm opposition from the two Republicans on the five-member commission. Genachowski’s two fellow Democrats said Monday they will vote for the rules, even though they consider them too weak.

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Republicans, meanwhile, warn that the new rules would impose unnecessary regulations on an industry that is one of the few bright spots in the current economy, with phone and cable companies spending billions to upgrade their networks for broadband.

Burdensome net neutrality rules, they warn, would discourage broadband providers from continuing those upgrades by making it difficult for them to earn a healthy return on their investments.

Live coverage of the FCC meeting at CSPAN.

Reason TV produced this video to explain why net neutrality is not only unnecessary – it’s a bad idea:

See also:

Stop The ACLU: FCC To Vote On Net Neutrality Today, Create Problem Where None Existed

UPDATE:

As expected:

Weasel Zippers: FCC Votes 3-2 to Regulate the Internet Via Net Neutrality…

But:

Republican Congressmen Vow to Quash Net Neutrality…

(Daily Caller)– In the wake of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) passing of a net neutrality plan, some Congressmen are already planning how to fight back. For some, that means the 1996 Congressional Review Act (CRA).

Michigan Republican Rep. Fred Upton, the incoming chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Oregon Republican Rep. Greg Walden and Nebraska Republican Rep. Lee Terry have pledged to use that law to fight the FCC’s new regulations.

The CRA gives Congress the authority to review federal agency regulations, and repeal them if necessary with a joint resolution.

 

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3 thoughts on “FCC Poised To Impose Net Neutrality Rules, Today

  1. Hey Nice Deb, I send greetings from Amman, Jordan, where I live as an American Mommy Blogger covering social issues.

    I was surprised to see a a link from you (even though WordPress generated :D), a blog I read to keep up with right-wing news – since there obviously isn’t much in my neck of the woods. Have a lovely day!

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  2. This problem is not nearly as simple as either side wants to paint it. As an ungegulated monomopoly, AT&T owns most of the telephone lines over which the net travels and is therefore in a position to hold back competitors to it’s own content, which it does do. AT&T has a long history of acting as a monpolist in artificially inflating prices, stifling competition, and holding back innovation. On the other hand, the Dead Hand of Government has the same history. To get to the truth of the matter, a long and objective in-depth study of the matter must be done to arrive somewhere near the truth. Unfortunately, it appears that neither side has done so. While it is obvious that AT&T is using monopoly power to hold back competitiors’ content, it is also obvious that the government has a long histroy of bungling and creating terrible unintended consequences. On balance, it would seem that the government appears to be the greater danger of the two. But this will not go away, and it may eventually require new thinking to unravel the atrophied hand of the monopolist over an entire WWW. SCary thought that eh?

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  3. Pingback: Monday Links: Climate Fraud Edition « Nice Deb

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