In Wake Of Trump Win, ISPs Are Already Laying The Groundwork For Gutting Net Neutrality
from the deep-shit dept
With Donald Trump now the President elect, all eyes in telecom have turned to what happens now in regards to FCC telecom enforcement generally, and our shiny new net neutrality rules specifically. Trump has proclaimed he opposes net neutrality, despite making it abundantly clear he doesn't appear to actually know what it is (he appears to falsely believe it has something to do with the fairness doctrine). As such most people believe he'll work to gut the current FCC, which as we've noted has, for the first time in arguably twenty years or so, actually been doing a few things to actually help broadband consumers and sector competition.Trump is said to have appointed Jeffrey Eisenach, "a crusader against regulation," who has consistently criticized current FCC boss Tom Wheeler, to handle his telecom transition team:
In 2012 Eisenach arrived as a fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute — and in that role, he’s been an outspoken antagonist of FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and his policies. In his research and advocacy, often backed by tech and telecom interests, he's slammed the Obama administration's efforts on net neutrality, broadband investment and more.As such, any newly-configured FCC is more than a little likely to consist of the kind of revolving door regulators that either will move to strip back net neutrality protections (difficult but not impossible), or (potentially more likely) simply refuse to enforce them. ISPs are already making it clear they see an opportunity to role back "onerous FCC regulations" at the behest of giant ISPs -- likely in the form of a complete Communications Act rewrite courtesy of the Republican-controlled House and Senate.
This enthusiasm includes former Congressman Rick Boucher, who at one point in time was a fantastic crusader for fair use rights, but has since made his living playing parrot for the telecom industry over at Sidley Austin, a law firm that effectively acts as an AT&T policy arm. Not wasting any time, an e-mail dropped into Techdirt's inbox this morning by the Internet Innovation Alliance (also part of AT&T's telecom policy efforts), featuring Boucher proclaiming that it was time to "return to the bi-partisan light regulatory oversight of broadband":
The first order of business for the new FCC should be a return to the bi-partisan light regulatory oversight of broadband launched during the Clinton administration. The decision to treat broadband as an information service unleashed a wave of investment in internet infrastructure that enabled our communications network to become the envy of the world. That progress has been undermined by the Commission's decision to treat broadband as a telecommunications service with regulatory requirements designed for the monopoly era of rotary telephones. Few regulatory changes would do more to promote investment and a stronger U.S. economy than a return to the time-honored light regulatory regime for broadband.If you're playing along at home and don't speak telecom sock-puppet, Boucher's effectively arguing Trump should back off the FCC's recent decision to reclassify ISPs as common carriers (which put the FCC on the proper legal footing to enforce net neutrality) and return to the FCC's earlier mantra of going out of its way to avoid doing much of anything that would hinder incumbent ISP profits. That's unfortunate, given that this was a period during which we pretended that if we let ISPs dictate all regulation they would magically deploy amazing new competitive broadband networks.
Generally speaking, most of you should be able to see how well that worked out for us based on, well, looking at Comcast or your over-priced and slow AT&T DSL line. Meanwhile pay TV providers like Dish, rather unsurprisingly, made it clear they see this being a possible end to net neutrality:
$DISH CEO Ergen says Trump administration may mean Obama -backed tough net neutrality rules gets "challenged or weakened" going forward @WSJ
— Shalini Ramachandran (@shalini) November 9, 2016
In other words there's every indication that we're headed back in time -- to a bygone era not that long ago where folks like AT&T and Comcast dictated policy to FCC Democrats and Republicans alike, resulting in a weak-kneed regulator whose sole purpose was to dumbly nod each and every time AT&T, Verizon, Comcast or Charter made a policy proposal.
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Filed Under: broadband, fcc, net neutrality, regulation, rich boucher
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What is worse than a Dingo?
If Wheeler was a baby-eating dingo, what exactly would that make Eisenach?
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maybe if...
The problem is Congress not Bammy, and not Drumpf!
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"We just torched the political establishment."
No. You elected a guy who promised to magically fix things, implying at most he'll torch the establishment.
It sounds like he plans on serving an already established platform, just the one other than Obama's.
Don't hold your breath waiting for his mass reformations.
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You rock the establishment by providing opposition, not by removing it.
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Re: Anonymous "A huge majority"
http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php
). Not that she would be innovative unless she gets the big $$$ to be, IMO, but it's likely she'd understand innovation better than DJT and his handlers.
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Is there any way someone can stroke Trump's ego enough to get him to re-appoint Wheeler instead? Ego-stroking is one of the few things that seems to get through to Trump.
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Re: Anonymous Coward, "ego stroking"
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No, they want to be AOL and Prodigy for the 21st century and control not just your internet experience, but all media and communication.
Gatekeeping is control, control is money.
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Which world is that? Bizaro World?
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We have been looking to Sweden and South Korea with envy. USA haven't had a communications network that was an envy of the world for the last 30 years at least. Boucher seems to have an onerous relation to the truth, if he isn't straight up a lying man with no decency left.
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Maybe it's 'envy' along the lines of "I am so glad I don't live in the US and have to deal with their crap network." Nothing else would be even remotely accurate.
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The sky is falling, the sky is falling!
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Re: The sky is falling, the sky is falling!
Canada?
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Re: The sky is falling, the sky is falling!
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Re: Re: The sky is falling, the sky is falling!
And why would wanting to not live in an authoritarian oligarchy suddenly make a 'despotic' Cuba attractive? Or are you so far to the right that centrists and communists look about the same?
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Endlessly blaming people for problems based on their skin color and/or gender is by far the biggest problem with the left. There is not the slightest doubt in my mind the racial and gender shaming that's commonplace among the left disaffected enough liberal Democrats to just not vote at all. Because if the choice is Trump or someone surrounded by people who hate you based on physical attributes you're born with, voting ends up as a choice between two awful candidates.
Hell, Nurlip blaming whites several posts above is an example of this problem. His case is minor, but still an issue.
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Endlessly blaming people for problems based on their skin color and/or gender is by far the biggest problem with the left. There is not the slightest doubt in my mind the racial and gender shaming that's commonplace among the left disaffected enough liberal Democrats to just not vote at all. Because if the choice is Trump or someone surrounded by people who hate you based on physical attributes you're born with, voting ends up as a choice between two awful candidates.
Hell, Nurlip blaming whites several posts above is an example of this problem. His case is minor, but still an issue.
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Casebook example of self delusion
Just switch the left and right
and read it again.
It is all downhill from here.
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Re: Casebook example of self delusion
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Re: Re: Casebook example of self delusion
Can you admit it?
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But the killing I was referring to was libs saying that we would be killing people here in the US. Proves how irrational and emotional libs are.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Casebook example of self delusion
If the U.S.A. political system were a plane it would not be flightworthy since a plane needs a left wing and a right wing, not two right wings in minimal distance.
It's sort of built like a flatfish.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Casebook example of self delusion
you said:
"they actually believe there will be blood in the streets "
I ask:
Have you been watching the news in the past idk, few decades? Shit's been going down like forever, nothing new here .. but don't let that stop you from feeling entitled. I guess people of color are not human and therefore do not count? Is this what you really think? Sure seems that way.
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Calling someone who voted for Trump uneducated is like calling them racists, fascists, etc. It doesn't help your argument any and it really makes you look bad.
Not everyone who voted for Trump was uneducated (ignorant, yes you could very much argue that and I'd agree with you on it, but not uneducated.) I know a great deal of folks who voted for him who had master's and doctor's degrees, including a medical doctor, and I'd have a hard time saying they were uneducated. Yes, there probably were many in the set of people who voted for Trump who were uneducated, or racist, or fascist, but the entire set was not those things.
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That is hard to get my head around. I know it's true but I can't make sense of it.
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Kiss me, Richard Bennett. We will dance the night away on Google's festering corpse.
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Happily
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Trump would be well advised that the SOPA style rage that came out against SOPA may rear it's head once again if the Telco & ISP's try to screw the public once again, citizens will definitely be pissed in ways that Trump wouldnt like if he allows the ISP's & Telco's to gouge the consumer any further.
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... use of the word gobbly goop?
lol, some people.
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They got it backwards
Yeah, about that, I don't believe our overall internet infrastructure is envied so much as it's pitied.
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How is being clueless a problem?
So? Take a look at the Affordable Healthcare Act. Modelled after Romney's Massachusetts healthcare legislation, the Democrats thought that surely Republicans would not object to a plan in line with that of their own presidential candidate and implemented policy.
Now just call it "Obamacare" and everybody is against it. Simple as that.
All that Trump needs to do is call net neutrality "Obamanet" and it's dead.
People will be out in the streets demanding their right not to have the right of choosing their own broadband provider.
U.S. policymaking is as stupid as that. If you want to bet against the stupidity of people, you'll end up on the side of the losers.
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Re: uneducated whites that elected Trump
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Really?
Seems like media whores still don't get it. We need real change, and that is why Clinton was disposed of.
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Well, I agree with needing real change. Problem just is that a real change for the worse is not helping.
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This doesn't mean I automatically favour regulating "all the things!" It does mean that where there is a boxing match we need the Queensberry rules to be enforced by a referee willing to stand up to either boxer.
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That's not cause to celebrate.
This isn't some abstract intellectual exercise. The cost of this proof will be huge, and will be borne disproportionately by those who can least afford it.
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Nonsense, I'm sure one, maybe even two company execs might have to cut down on their lavish lifestyle a bit if the economy tanks thanks to greedy companies getting everything they want.
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Whaa?
'envy of the world'? Sure it is mate. In your own tiny little mind.
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That pesky revolving door
That's the way of the world, kids.
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