Today, the Federal Communications Commission in the US voted to repeal net neutrality protections in a totally unsurprising move that will, in all likelihood, royally screw the internet as we know it. With net neutrality gutted, browsing the internet could resemble the token ’90s experience of waiting for a porn image to load pixel by pixel – unless you pay a premium.
FCC chairman Ajit Pai (Chip Somodevilla / Getty)
During a voting session today, and after a year of dogged advocacy, the FCC voted 3-2 to repeal net neutrality. Experts forecast that the Republican-majority commission will remove regulations that prevented broadband internet companies from choking some websites’ speeds while fast-tracking others who shell out cash.
It’s an unsavoury prospect for the everyday internet user, and one that thousands of websites have taken a stand against. The FCC collected millions of comments on the plan to roll back net neutrality plan this year. A reported 98.5% opposed it. After all that, it looks like Republican-led Congress does not care.
FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai We’re not stupid, buddy.
In one of today’s two dissenting opinions, FCC commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel condemned the FCC’s blatant disregard for public opinion on the issue: “It’s ugly in the cavalier disregard this agency has demonstrated to the public, the contempt it has shown for citizens who speak up, and the disdain it has for popular opinion. Unlike its predecessors this FCC has not held a single public hearing on net neutrality. There is no shortage of people who believe Washington is not listening to their concerns, their fears, and their desires. Add this agency to the list.”
In the past, he and other anti-net neutrality congressmen argued that internet regulations will give service providers less incentive to compete and improve. Sure, that sounds like a crock of bullshit when paired with the fact that tens of millions of U.S. homes can only get internet with speeds over 25 Mbps from one company. And that cable companies have donated millions of dollars to hundreds of Republican politicians in the most recent election cycle.
Comments
2 responses to “The FCC Just Brought Us One Step Closer To A Destroyed Internet”
Democracy at its finest: most people — even Republicans — don’t want net neutrality scrapped, yet those in power, and in cahoots with the companies that stand to gain from the changes, don’t give a sh*t anyway.
It may be tough but as long as no one pays the extortion fee to the rackets and penalise those that aim to profit from it people are more loyal to websites than their ISP.
Maybe it should be a 2 way street, have Facebook, Netflix and Google et al, throttle any ISP that engages in the exploitation, whilst alerting people whats going on and providing a way to find ISPs that do not engage in the practice.
If the FCC is going to destroy the internet then, why not do it in a blaze of glory.