Net neutrality day of action: everything you need to know – The Verge

No, Michael Powell, let’s not ‘calm down’ about net neutrality

2017-12-13T12:27:45-05:00

The president and CEO of the trade group that lobbies for the ISPs that are trying to end net neutrality would like everyone to just chill. In an op-ed published at Recode, former FCC chairman and NCTA head Michael Powell argues that things will be just fine "no matter what happens to net neutrality."

It's disappointing to see such easily refuted arguments being made by current and former FCC chairmen, but I'm always ready to address them. Let's take a stroll through Powell's editorial.

Tomorrow, the Federal Communications Commission will vote to restore light-touch regulation and promote investment in internet networks. Opponents of this …

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The net neutrality comment period was a complete mess

2017-08-31T10:12:14-04:00

After months of debate, protests, and disruptions, the FCC's comment period on its proposal to kill net neutrality is now over. The commission stopped accepting comments at midnight Eastern time last night, closing out with nearly 22 million total replies - setting an immense new record. The FCC's previous comment record was just 3.7 million, set during the last net neutrality proceeding.

But the process of receiving all those comments was far from smooth this time around. The FCC's website is fairly confusing. It's also, apparently, susceptible to spam and other attacks, which we saw at multiple points across the past four months.

Early …

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Why is Comcast using self-driving cars to justify abolishing net neutrality?

2017-07-18T14:54:47-04:00

Yesterday, Comcast filed its comments in favor of the FCC's plan to eliminate the 2015 net neutrality rules. While much of the document was devoted to arguments we've heard before - Comcast believes the current rules are anti-competitive and hurt investment, but generally supports the principles of net neutrality - one statement stood out.

Buried in the 161-page document was this quirky assertion (emphasis ours):

At the same time, the Commission also should bear in mind that a more flexible approach to prioritization may be warranted and may be beneficial to the public… And paid prioritization may have other compelling applications in tele …

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AT&T’s ‘support’ for net neutrality means tricking customers to fight against it

2017-07-13T10:09:05-04:00

If you weren't paying close attention yesterday, it may have looked like AT&T got onboard the net neutrality "day of action" protest. The company's website displayed a banner saying that "AT&T supports an open internet," and it sent a message to DirecTV customers mentioning the same thing. "Tell Congress to adopt permanent protections," both messages added, before directing people to an "Open Internet" page on AT&T's site.

But while that page might look like other pro-net neutrality sites at first glance, it's far from it. AT&T is carefully wording around the fact that it's opposed to the net neutrality order that activists are fighting for …

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The FCC says net neutrality destroys small ISPs. So has it?

2017-07-13T10:05:04-04:00

Net neutrality is meant to prevent internet giants like Comcast, Verizon, and AT&T from wielding their huge networks as weapons to suppress competition from web companies like Netflix, Dropbox, and even sources of news. While those large ISPs account for the vast majority of US internet subscribers, there are thousands of other internet providers out there that don't have that kind of power. And though they're small, they've played an outsized role in the net neutrality debate.

In April, 22 small cable providers signed a letter to the Federal Communications Commission asking for the end of net neutrality, writing that the policy imposed "on …

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Alexis Ohanian: net neutrality ‘continues to unite more Americans than divide them’

2017-07-12T16:43:41-04:00

Reddit has been one of the most prominent companies in digital advocacy, organizing to defeat SOPA in 2012 and to defend net neutrality in 2014. As the internet rallies for today's pro-net neutrality protest, Reddit has organized Ask Me Anything sessions around the issue, and the company announced in a blog post that it will be making the company's first "official" trip to DC next month to meet with lawmakers.

"Net neutrality is not the best phrase."

"The Reddit company just hasn't been in a place to do it," co-founder Alexis Ohanian said in an interview today with The Verge. The company, he says, has now staffed up its policy team for coord …

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Comcast, Verizon, and AT&T want Congress to make a net neutrality law because they will write it

2017-07-12T13:17:43-04:00

Companies and organizations that rely on an open internet rallied on Wednesday for a "day of action" on net neutrality, and America's biggest internet service providers have responded with arrogance and contempt for their customers. Comcast's David Cohen called arguments in favor of FCC regulation "scare tactics" and "hysteria." Beyond the dismissive rhetoric, ISPs are coincidentally united today in calling for Congress to act - and that's because they've paid handsomely to control what Congress does.

There's one thing Republicans and Democrats can agree on, and that's taking money from ISPs. The telecommunications industry was the most pow …

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Here’s how the internet’s net neutrality day of action unfolded

2017-07-12T11:13:49-04:00

Today, some of the world's biggest internet companies and activist groups are coming together to protest the FCC's proposed rollback of net neutrality protections. Google, Twitter, and Reddit have weighed in, as have groups like Mozilla and the ACLU.

The complete tally of groups and people involved in the protest, organized by activist group Fight for the Future, is massive, so any list will necessarily be incomplete. But here is a look at several of the most noteworthy - messages of support from the biggest players, creative displays from smaller upstarts, and some odder entries in the internet's net neutrality "day of action."

Tim Berners …

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The internet is fucked (again)

2017-07-12T09:00:38-04:00

FCC chairman Ajit Pai is fond of saying that "the internet was not broken in 2015" when he argues for repeal of our nation's net neutrality rules. This is particularly funny to me, because in 2014 I literally wrote an article called "The internet is fucked."

Why was it fucked? Because the free and open internet was in danger of becoming tightly controlled by giant telecom corporations that were already doing things like blocking apps and services from phones and excusing their own services from data caps. Because the lack of competition in the internet access market let these companies act like predatory monopolies. And because our governme …

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Tech giants rally today in support of net neutrality

2017-07-12T05:39:33-04:00

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Technology giants like Amazon, Spotify, Reddit, Facebook, Google, Twitter, and many others are rallying today in a so-called "day of action" in support of net neutrality, five days ahead of the first deadline for comments on the US Federal Communications Commission's planned rollback of the rules.

In a move that's equal parts infuriating and exasperating, Ajit Pai, the FCC's new chairman appointed by President Trump, wants to scrap the open internet protections installed in 2015 under the Obama administration. Those consumer protections mean providers such as AT&T, Charter, Comcast, and Verizon are prevented from blocking or slowing down ac …

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