For a lot of people, the issue of network neutrality shouldn't be an issue at all, it should just be fact. The equal treatment of all internet traffic — subject to no throttling, control, or any other form of oversight by governments or internet providers — is held up as one of the foundational principles of the web and should be respected unconditionally.
I’m over at the FCC building in Washington, D.C. today because the agency is about to vote on a notice of proposed rulemaking to restore net neutrality.
It’s also Commissioner Anna Gomez’s first open meeting after her September confirmation.
Sources speaking to both Bloomberg and Reuters say that the FCC is ready to launch a grueling effort to reinstate net neutrality rules rescinded under Trump, after Democrats took majority control of the five-member agency on Monday. FCC chair Rosenworcel will reportedly outline the initiative later today, followed by months of notice and comments and voting and, inevitably, lawsuits backed by broadband providers like AT&T, Verizon, and Comcast and the lawmakers they help elect.
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Ads, surveys, a data breach: all were used to turn unsuspecting people into fake net neutrality comments. This report (pdf) from the NY Attorney General’s office details some shady shit; firms even cheated their own subcontractors.
But as Karl Bode points out, the real story is the wrist-slap. A tiny fine for the goons; none at all for the telecom monopolies that hired ‘em.
Join Sen. Ed Markey and Gigi Sohn for a Verge Live event on Wednesday
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Throttling could be much harder under a Democratic Senate