Dem Sen Ed Markey introduces new legislation to codify internet access as essential service, undo Trump FCC's deregulation

[basquebromance]

It's time to restore net neutrality and ensure the internet is open, free, and accessible to all.

 

[marvin martian]

It's time to restore net neutrality and ensure the internet is open, free, and accessible to all.

The government wants to take over the internet, and you clap like a trained seal.

Please don't vote or reproduce.

 

[basquebromance]

The government wants to take over the internet, and you clap like a trained seal.

Please don't vote or reproduce.

my family is bigger than the Duggers

 

[ABikerSailor]

He's not wrong. The internet is kind of a necessity nowadays. If you want to apply for a job, do something that is required by the government, as well as many other things, ya gotta do it via the 'net. At the beginning of this year, I needed to get some tax forms from previous years, and was told repeatedly to sign onto the IRS tax site to get them. I didn't want to do that, because I wanted to have real documents that I know came from the IRS (yeah, on occasion I can be kind of a Luddite), and have them in my hand. So, they gave me an appointment for a week and a half from when I called, and I went up and got the documents.

Know what the clerk did? Signed onto the IRS website, printed the documents, and gave me what I could have done myself at my computer at home. Yes, internet is kind of an essential service in this day and age.

Same with shopping. I decided that I wanted to get something, and every store I went to said that yes, they did carry that, but only online. They could order it for me, or I could simply go to the website and order it myself. It's getting to the point where if you want a specialty kind of item, you have to order it online, as most stores nowadays only carry the bare essentials for their store.

 

[ColonelAngus]

OP, explain specifically what is wrong with the internet currently?

If this bill passes, and censorship and cost of internet increases, you should do a self permaban.

 

[Cellblock2429]

It's time to restore net neutrality and ensure the internet is open, free, and accessible to all.

/——/ uhhhh, what’s wrong with the internet now? What needs to be fixed?

 

[ABikerSailor]

OP, explain specifically what is wrong with the internet currently?

If this bill passes, and censorship and cost of internet increases, you should do a self permaban.

Actually, net neutrality is to keep the companies from increasing the prices, or slowing down the competitors that you might use when accessing their competition from your service.

Here is a link that explains some of the things that has happened since net neutrality was defeated. It's great to have it gone for the companies, but the consumer gets screwed by having it gone.

Broadband Providers Are Quietly Taking Advantage of an Internet Without Net Neutrality Protections

In December 2017, the Federal Communications Commission under Chairman Ajit Pai voted to repeal net neutrality rules enacted two years

publicknowledge.org

The FCC’s repeal is a radical break from an almost 20 year bipartisan FCC tradition of protecting an open internet. Some proponents of the repeal argue that a year after the decision, the internet is still functioning — but that doesn’t mean the internet isn’t changing. Consumers may not have noticed broadband providers making network management adjustments, because they are purposefully small and gradual, but they are crucial steps in preventing an open internet.

There have been several potential net neutrality violations since the repeal went into effect:

• AT&T and Verizon both torture the meaning of the word “unlimited” by offering multiple unlimited plans. But the more expensive ones are either paired with the company’s own streaming service, or the companies degrade the quality of the video under certain conditions. These practices may give the carrier’s content an advantage in the marketplace over smaller, independent video producers.
• Sprint has been throttling internet traffic to Microsoft’s Skype service, causing the video quality to be poorer than it should be, which is especially worrisome because Skype is a tool that competes with Sprint’s calling service. These are only two examples of how companies can favor their own content over competitors’ without rules forbidding this behavior.
• Comcast has new speed limits where videos will be throttled to 480p on all its mobile plans unless customers pay extra.
• A recent study shows that the largest U.S. telecom companies, including Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile, are slowing down internet traffic from apps like YouTube and Netflix.
• Verizon’s throttling of services even affected the Santa Clara County Fire Department’s ability to provide emergency services during the California wildfires. The fire department experienced slowed down speeds on their devices and had to sign up for a new, expensive plan before speeds were restored.
• Other examples continue to show that internet companies have already used the lack of net neutrality rules to their advantage to make money and block certain content.