Net neutrality: FCC approves plan to govern internet like public utility – as it happened
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http://www.theguardian.com/technology/live/2015/feb/26/net-neutrality-fcc-votes-internet Version 0 of 1. 2.30pm ET19:30 FCC passes net neutrality rules 2.23pm ET19:23 Verizon has accused the FCC for imposing “1930s rules on the internet” in a statement written in morse code. “Today’s decision by the FCC to encumber broadband Internet services with badly antiquated regulations is a radical step that presages a time of uncertainty for consumers, innovators and investors,” it said in a ‘translated’ statement. 1.09pm ET18:09 Our man in the room, Dominic Rushe, says. The meeting is adjourned. There’s a lot of let stretching. Wheeler will hold a press conference soon and then Pai and O’Rielly will set out their objections. The historic vote may be over but this is where the fun begins. Expect lawsuits and shouting. Lots and lots of shouting. 1.08pm ET18:08 Our full story on the vote is now up. Internet activists scored a landmark victory on Thursday as the top US telecommunications regulator approved a plan to govern broadband internet like a public utility. “We have won on net neutrality,” Wozniak told the Guardian. “This is important because they don’t want the FCC to have oversight over other bad stuff.” 1.02pm ET18:02 Berin Szoka, executive director of TechFreedom, which opposes net neutrality No one can possibly imagine what will happen next on the Internet So... we need completely unfettered discretion -@TomWheelerFCC #FCCLive 1.00pm ET18:00 3-2 for net neutrality Voting along party lines, as expected. Much cheering in the room BREAKING: The @FCC has approved its groundbreaking #netneutrality rules http://t.co/eYf4N81Lc8 pic.twitter.com/INOeLQT8YW Updated at 1.05pm ET 12.59pm ET17:59 Wheeler: “We cannot possibly imagine what is going to happen next on the internet. We want to encourage that sort of innovation... The internet must remain open, we will protect the internet.” 12.57pm ET17:57 Wheeler: “Fast lanes will not divide the internet into haves and have-nots. “Consumers will be able to go where they want, when they want.” 12.53pm ET17:53 Wheeler: “Today is a red letter day for internet freedom... For a future to protect the internet and its users The ISPs revenue stream will be the same tomorrow as it was tomorrow” Updated at 12.56pm ET 12.51pm ET17:51 It is simply too important to be left with rules and referee on the field The internet has redefined commerce and entertainment. The internet is simply too important to allow broadband providers to be the ones making the rules. The action that we take today is about the protect of internet openess. Updated at 12.52pm ET 12.50pm ET17:50 Vote is coming now “No one whether government or corporate should control access to the internet” Wheeler says. 12.46pm ET17:46 The FCC website carrying a live stream of the hearing is struggling to cope with the number of people following along online. We're experiencing high volumes on #FCCLive. Alternatively you can watch Commission meeting via @CSPAN http://t.co/COLB3CvjeT #OpenInternet 12.38pm ET17:38 Berin Szoka, executive director of TechFreedom, which opposes net neutrality has been tweeting . #FCC gives enormous weight to speculative benefits of #NetNeutrality regulation but NO weight to harms of #TItleII - @MikeOFCC #FCCLive #FCC has abdicated its role as an expert agency - @MikeOFCC #FCCLive Evidence of #NetNeutrality threats? THERE IS NONE, only a few anecdotes from last decade -@AjitPaiFCC #FCCLive 12.08pm ET17:08 Pai says consumers should expect broadband bills to go up and speeds to get slower. He says net neutrality will mean new taxes on broadband bills. He says regulations will slow development in US broadband. It’s hard to imagine US broadband it being any less developed compared to Europe Pai was formerly a lawyer for Verizon, which has been on the frontlines of the cable company’s lobbying against net neutrality. His profile on the FCC’s website says: “He served as Associate General Counsel at Verizon Communications Inc., where he handled competition matters, regulatory issues, and counseling of business units on broadband initiatives.” Updated at 12.25pm ET 12.03pm ET17:03 Commissioner Ajit Pai: “We are flip flopping for one reason only: President Obama asked us to” He says Obama’s plan “is not the solution to a problem, his plan is the problem”. .@ajitpaiFCC new rules will mean more taxes, less investment and be "a boon for trial lawyers". #NetNeutrality Updated at 12.29pm ET 11.53am ET16:53 Christopher Mitchell, director of community broadband networks at the institute for local self-reliance, which campaigns for more local broadband providers, said the vote for municipal broadband was a “watershed moment” that will help check “the worst abuses of the cable monopoly for decades to come”. Cable companies lost their bet that millions spent on lobbying to stifle competition was a wiser investment than extending high-quality Internet to our nation’s entrepreneurs, students and rural families.“Preventing big Internet Service Providers from unfairly discriminating against content online is a victory, but allowing communities to be the owners and stewards of their own broadband networks is a watershed moment that will serve as a check against the worst abuses of the cable monopoly for decades to come.” The FCC decision sets an historic precedent for towns working to offer municipal broadband networks in twenty states that have enacted limits or bans on local governments building, owning, or even partnering to give local businesses and residents a choice in high speed Internet access. Three-quarters of Americans currently have either no broadband or no choice of their Internet provider. 11.48am ET16:48 @SenTedCruz, a Republican senator from Texas, is one main opponents of net neutrality which he described as “Obamacare for the internet.” "Net Neutrality" is Obamacare for the Internet; the Internet should not operate at the speed of government. He released this bizarre video as part of his campaign What could tomorrow's FCC Net Neutrality vote mean for you? WATCH: https://t.co/SuG8ZAYmPL #DontMessWithTheNet Updated at 11.49am ET 11.40am ET16:40 Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the internet, has given evidence in favour of net neutrality and ensuring that the internet remains open and fair for all. Tim Berners Lee: today's #NetNeutrality vote about "civil rights, free speech, and democracy." pic.twitter.com/h3qvaePvD6 11.29am ET16:29 Chad Dickerson @Etsy CEO now making case for #NetNeutrality (also crocheted dogs). #FCClive “Etsy CEO: How Net Neutrality Shaped My Life” by @chaddickerson https://t.co/lEMoxhTL7Q 11.21am ET16:21 Municipal broadband vote passes FCC votes in favour of overturning state laws that ban municipalities from expanding independent broadband coverage. FCC VOTES 3-2 ALONG PARTY LINES TO OVERRIDE STATE INTERNET LAWS. Updated at 11.26am ET 11.21am ET16:21 FCC chairman Tom Wheeler is summing up now. “What we too often lose sight of in our discussions... is that these issue... have a very human face,” @TomWheelerFCC Updated at 11.24am ET 11.20am ET16:20 Reasons to ban rural people getting better internet? Read it if u can #NetNeutrality #FCClive pic.twitter.com/V7SUtYnkHU 11.17am ET16:17 Commissioner Ajit Pai, who is against both proposals, said: the FCC does not have legal authority to override state decisions. The FCC does not have the legal authority to override the decisions made by Tennessee and North Carolina. Under the law, it is up to the people of those two states and their elected representatives—not the Commission—to decide whether and to what extent to allow municipalities to operate broadband projects. Today’s Order is therefore unlawful. This decision violates the constitutional principles that lie at the heart of our system of government. The FCC is treating Tennessee and North Carolina as mere appendages of the federal government rather than the separate sovereigns that they are. For all of these reasons, I dissent. 10.43am ET15:43 The main event isn’t until a bit later on, first up is a vote on whether or not to allow the expansion of municipal broadband. Local governments in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Wilson, North Carolina, have built their own fast networks, which has angered cable companies. Under pressure form the cable lobby, state laws have banned them from expanding their service to other communities. The FCC may override the bans. Dominic went to Chattanooga in the summer this summer, to find out how its fast internet is helping power the city’s economy. Read about it here. The city is one of the only places on Earth with internet as fast as 1 gigabit per second – about 50 times faster than the US average. Despite Big Cable’s attempt to block the Gig’s expansion plans, money keeps flowing into Chattanooga Updated at 10.45am ET 10.43am ET15:43 This is the view from the press seats in the Reading Room where things might get underway in a few minutes This @fcc meeting is brought to u by Men's Wearhouse. #NetNeutrality pic.twitter.com/B56hrEPkDX Updated at 10.43am ET 10.26am ET15:26 Proceedings kick-off at 10:30am, and you can watch along live. The meeting is taking place at the FCC’s bland HQ in DC. Snow has put a dampener on the planned protests/celebrations outside and has also meant the security lines are clogged with people struggling out of coats, hats and scarves. Inside the chatter in mainly about when it is over. The meeting was delayed until 10:30 and people want out! The crowd is a sea of suits (mainly blue or black and presumably mainly lawyers). We are now being asked to take our seats. It's snowing in DC but protest groups like @fightfortheftr are outside the #FCC pressing for #NetNeutrality. pic.twitter.com/6GoNLNuTEf Crowd gathering outside the @fcc in the snow to celebrate a peoples victory for the Internet! #NetNeutrality pic.twitter.com/hB59PXvoRe 10.18am ET15:18 What even is net neutrality? Watch this New York Times explainer video to find out 10.13am ET15:13 Apple co-founder Steve Wozniacki has joined campaigners and protesters outside the vote. .@stevewoz outside #NetNeutrality vote. @FCC needs power to stop "bad stuff". pic.twitter.com/Vv1nOiZB0d Updated at 10.16am ET 9.56am ET14:56 It may sound a bit boring, and the technical language used in the debate is often impenetrable, but this vote matters. John Oliver explains in language one can actually understand in this great video Oliver’s piece was so popular that when it was first published it caused the FCC’s website to crash. Helpfully proving the internet needs help 9.52am ET14:52 The future of the internet Good morning and welcome to our live blog coverage of a meeting deciding the future of the internet. Dominic Rushe, our man on the ground in Washington, has written this preview of the historic vote, that will give the regulator the greatest power over the cable industry it has had since the internet went mainstream. President Obama gave his support to the rules last year, following an online campaign that pitched internet activists and companies including Netflix and Reddit, I Can Has Cheezburger? – weblog home of the Lolcats meme – and online craft market Etsy against Republican leaders and the cable and telecom lobbies. The meeting kicks off at 10.30am ET. |