Thread: FCC to publish Net Neutrality Repeal today

FCC to officially publish net neutrality repeal Thursday

Once the agency publishes its order repealing the 2015 rules, it starts the clock for legal challenges and last-ditch congressional action to preserve the old regulation.


The Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality rules will be no more in two months, as the agency takes the final step in removing the regulation from its rule book.
But it may not be the end of the story, as dozens of groups are expected to file lawsuits challenging the repeal and Democrats in Congress push to reverse the FCC's action.
The FCC will publish the final notice of the repeal in the Federal Register on Thursday, which will start a 60-day clock until the rules are removed. The FCC voted to repeal the rules on Dec. 14.
Net neutrality is the idea that all traffic on the internet is treated equally. In 2015, under President Barack Obama, a Democrat-led FCC passed rules that barred broadband companies from slowing down or blocking access to certain websites or services. It also prohibited internet companies from charging a fee to access customers more quickly.
Supporters of net neutrality say the rules are necessary to ensure broadband companies don't abuse their power as gatekeepers of the internet. Companies like Facebook, Google, and Twitter supported the rules. But broadband providers say the rules were too onerous and stifled investment. Broadband providers like AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon support the FCC's repeal of the rules.
The publication of the repeal in the Federal Register is an important procedural milestone because it sets into motion a countdown for challenging the rule change. Lawsuits challenging the repeal can be filed as soon as the rules have been published. Several net neutrality supporters and attorneys general in more than 20 states have already filed petitions with the court. But they will have to refile their lawsuits within a 10-day window following the publication of the rules in the Federal Register.
The publication of the order to repeal the rules also starts the clock on a deadline for Congress to pass legislation that could nullify the FCC's actions. Using the Congressional Review Act, Congress has 60 legislative days to pass a resolution that would reverse the repeal and keep the rules in place. Democrats say with the promise that Republican Susan Collins of Maine will side with them, they have 50 votes in the Senate under the CRA.
They need just one more vote to pass a measure in the Senate. But the legislation would still have to pass the House of Representatives where it would likely face a much higher hurdle. And President Donald Trump would also have the option to veto if it got through the House.
Meanwhile several states such as New Jersey, Montana and New York are making their own net neutrality policies. Governors in these states have signed executive orders requiring service providers that do business with the state adhere to the principles of net neutrality. That means broadband providers wouldn't be allowed to throttle traffic or create internet "fast lanes."

https://www.cnet.com/news/fcc-offici...tag=CAD590a51e

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

And President Donald Trump would also have the option to veto if it got through the House.

Ha!! He was the asshole who ordered the FCC to abolish the law.

The establishment and blind convention will always have their way, eventually, in one form or another.

Nearly all have become comfortably numb with the forced upon disconnections.
It continues.

Originally Posted by HuangLao

The establishment and blind convention will always have their way, eventually, in one form or another.

Nearly all have become comfortably numb with the forced upon disconnections.
It continues.

WTF is he on about now?

Translation. We are all fucked and don't realize it.

It's only seppoland.

Doesn't apply outside.

23 state AGs refile lawsuit challenging net neutrality repeal

The lawsuit by a coalition of attorneys general comes as the FCC files notice of its repeal to the Federal Register.

• BY
• STEVEN MUSIL

FEBRUARY 22, 2018 4:32 PM PST


A coalition of 23 state attorneys general refiled a lawsuit Thursday challenging the Federal Communications Commission's rollback of Obama-era net neutralityregulations as the commission published its final notice of the repeal in the Federal Register.

The coalition, lead by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, filed a lawsuit in January to block the repeal of the rules but agreed to withdraw it Friday and wait for the FCC's publication. Publishing the notice to the Federal Register begins a 60-day clock until the rules are removed and allows for the filing of legal challenges.

"Today, the FCC made official its illegal rollback of net neutrality -- and, as promised, our coalition of attorneys general is filing suit," Schneiderman said in a statement announcing the lawsuit (PDF).

"Consumers and businesses in New York and across the country have the right to a free and open internet, and our coalition of attorneys general won't stop fighting to protect that right," he said.

The lawsuit comes about two months after the agency voted 3-2 along party lines to dismantle rules passed in 2015 to ensure that all traffic on the internet is treated equally and to prevent broadband and wireless providers from blocking or slowing online content. The agency also voted to eliminate the legal foundation that gives the FCC oversight of internet service providers.

Even though many people agreed with the basic premise of net neutrality, the FCC's rules became a lightning rod for controversy because they placed broadband providers under the same strict regulations that govern telephone networks.

The lawsuit isn't the only action states are taking to preserve net neutrality. Earlier this month, New Jersey enacted its own net neutrality regulations, joining Montana and New York in making an independent net neutrality policy.
The FCC didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Joining Schneiderman in the coalition are the attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Mexico, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and the District of Columbia.

https://www.cnet.com/news/23-state-a...-rollback-fcc/

Just in case you needed reminding that they're both fucking pricks.

Ajit Pai – chairman of America's broadband watchdog, the FCC – is the proud new owner of a handmade Kentucky long gun from the US National Rifle Association (NRA) – thanks to his brave stance in favor of lining the pockets of billion-dollar telcos.

The watchdog boss said he was surprised to receive the Charlton Heston Courage Award from the association at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Maryland today. His reward, a showpiece gun, was not actually handed out on stage, quite possibly because CPAC has a no-weapons policy for its events.

The gong – whose past recipients have included Vice President Mike Pence, Rush Limbaugh, and Sheriff David Clarke – is given out to those who have "stood up under pressure with grace and dignity and principled discipline."

"As soon as President Trump came into office, President Trump asked Ajit Pai to liberate the internet and give it back to you," said Dan Schneider, executive director of the American Conservative Union, in announcing the prize.
"Ajit Pai is the most courageous, heroic person that I know."

This outpouring, and loaded political gift, was sensitively timed to take place right in the middle of an intense debate in the US over gun control, in the aftermath of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre in Florida.

The liberation referred to was, of course, Pai's efforts to revoke Title II classifications placed on American ISPs by the previous FCC administration, effectively tearing up the nation's net neutrality provisions.

Pai's declaration, branded "Restoring Internet Freedom," axed safeguards against things like the unfair prioritization of certain online services over others, and the throttling of connections to websites.

Critics have charged that this restoration brings about anything but "freedom" to an American public that may, at some point in the future, be told to pay, say, an extra $20 a month for non-throttled access to news websites. US ISPs were edging toward limiting access to services that rivaled their own offerings, hence the rush to set net neutrality in stone to keep telcos honest. Now, thanks to Pai, those protections have been stripped away.

And, sure, of course, we live in a free market: if a broadband provider tries to screw over its subscribers, punters can switch to a fairer ISP. In theory. The level of competition is embarrassing, though, and many Americans have little or no choice in their high-speed broadband provider.

In response to Pai's dismantling of net neutrality, a number of US states have moved to adopt their own open-internet rules, while Mozilla is leading a push to challenge Pai's rulings in court.

The new rules – or lack thereof – are set to go into effect on April 23. ®

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/02/24/nra_gives_ajit_pai_a_gun/