Why Is The FCC About To Require Batteries For Surfing The Web? (Forbes 6/16)
Many lauded a recent court decision authorizing the FCC to regulate the internet like a public utility. They hope “clearing the way for more rigorous” regulation of broadband providers will provide “greater protections for web users.” It appears they’ve forgotten that the government’s “protection” always comes with hidden costs — and the FCC is about to again remind them of that fact.
With last-minute regulations, FCC has its eye on the clock (The Hill 6/15)
According to a 2012 study by the Administrative Conference of the United States, “there has been a documented increase in the volume of regulatory activity during the last months of presidential terms.” The rules adopted during this late-term regulatory spurt are commonly called “midnight rules.” Because they are proposed and adopted with at least one eye glued to the clock, they often are ill-conceived.
How Obama helped reshape internet rules (The Hill 6/16)
Days after a crushing midterm defeat in which Democrats lost their Senate majority, President Obama released a video that endeared him to Silicon Valley and millions of internet activists.
The video, released while Obama was traveling in Asia, made the case for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to adopt the strongest possible rules to ensure a free internet.
The net neutrality court decision, in plain English (The Washington Post 6/15)
You may have heard something Tuesday about a court and net neutrality and something about the Internet. Maybe it didn’t make much sense. And that’s a good thing! If we all spent our time trying to decipher the Web, we’d never get around to actually using it, or creating awesome new things with it.
Senate panel approves net neutrality exemption bill for small providers (The Hill 6/15)
The Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday approved a bill to exempt small internet service providers from rules included in sweeping net neutrality regulations approved last year.
The legislation would exempt providers with 250,000 or fewer subscribers from transparency rules that are part of the regulations, which were approved by the Federal Communications Commission last February.
Net neutrality critics vow to fight to Supreme Court (The Hill 6/14)
Net neutrality critics on Tuesday vowed to take their challenges to the Supreme Court after a lower court rejected their arguments.
The flood of statements from internet service providers and their trade groups came quickly after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld the entirety of the Federal Communication Commission’s strict regulations of internet service.
Dem lawmakers cheer net neutrality ruling (The Hill 6/14)
Democratic lawmakers cheered a court decision on Tuesday upholding the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) sweeping rules to ensure net neutrality across the web.
“Today’s decision will help ensure we don’t turn over our democracy to the highest bidder,” said presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.) on Twitter.
Republicans weigh path forward after net neutrality ruling (The Hill 6/14)
Republican lawmakers on Tuesday said they were still weighing how to move forward after a court upheld the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) sweeping rules to ensure net neutrality across the web.
Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), who chairs the tech subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said Republicans were looking at all of their options.
What’s everyone saying about net neutrality? (CNET 6/14)
Love or hate the Federal Communications Commission’s rules governing the open internet, people aren’t keeping quiet about it.
For more than a decade, the issue of net neutrality, or the principle that all traffic on the internet should be treated equally, has pitted the broadband and internet industries against consumer advocates, who have called on the government to enact rules to make sure the open internet is protected.
Is This the End of the Road for Net Neutrality? Not if Industry Can Help It (Morning Consult 6/14)
Industry players are suggesting there’s another decade of legal challenges ahead on the Federal Communications Commission’s 2015 net neutrality rules after a federal court upheld the controversial regulations on Tuesday.
Internet service providers and tech lobbying groups are calling for various forms of legal action to fight the open internet regulations. Some are calling for the full U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to rehear the case, while others are already looking ahead to a Supreme Court showdown.
Title II Decision Draws Jeers From ISPs, GOP (Multichannel News 6/14)
ISPs and other opponents of the FCC’s Title II-based Open Internet order were regrouping Tuesday after a court defeat that will be appealed to the Supreme Court, but in the meantime were making their unhappiness known.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected all the ISP challenges to the rules, including the reclassification of ISPs as common carriers and the application of the rules to interconnection and mobile wireless operators. It was essentially a sweep for the commission and the Obama Administration, which strongly backed the rules.
Court Backs Rules Treating Internet as Utility, Not Luxury (New York Times 6/14)
WASHINGTON — High-speed internet service can be defined as a utility, a federal court has ruled in a sweeping decision clearing the way for more rigorous policing of broadband providers and greater protections for web users.
The decision affirmed the government’s view that broadband is as essential as the phone and power and should be available to all Americans, rather than a luxury that does not need close government supervision.