Federal Court Strikes Down Net Neutrality Rules, Sides with Big Telecom

How bad is this? Is it the end of the internet as we know it??? Will we be forced to watch cnn.com, abc.com, foxnews.com etc... for our news and information just because they will be loading 100 times faster than abovetopsecret.com or zerohedge.com?

Federal Court Strikes Down Net Neutrality Rules, Sides with Big Telecom

A U.S. Appeals Court just invalidated the FCC's net neutrality rules that would've made it illegal for telecom companies to favor certain types of traffic over others. This basically opens the door for companies like Verizon and Time Warner to cut special deals with websites to serve up their content faster.

Of course, the idea of giving preferential treatment to websites willing to pay for it means that smaller websites stand to lose out. Imagine the worst case scenario, where you literally have to pay an extra fee to get access to the websites you like. It's possible! At least the Appeals Court ruling on Verizon v. FCC states that telecom companies have to tell subscribers which sites they're favoring.

This is really bad. Why would Federal Court do this? Are their backs being scratched somehow??

This is a dark day for our freedom on the internet.

reply to post by TheBandit795


Well this is the point I'd say that it's the beginning of the end. Land of the dollar and home of the corporation. Long live the Corporate States of America!

reply to post by Krazysh0t


Yup, dose not look very good for the web. Now the big corps can take out the little guys that had been surviving off the web, it will no long be a place for small business to grow.

reply to post by ObjectZero


Exactly. Governments across the Western world, and especially the U.S. government have been increasingly anti-small business lately..

reply to post by TheBandit795


Small business are harder to control but easier to get rid of.

So, you all wanted the Feds to control your Internet?

reply to post by TheBandit795

Absolutely BRILLIANT.

This way they don't have to explain why we are not allowed to visit certain sites...WE STILL CAN!
...of course it will take 20 minutes to load the page but hey, if you don't wanna wait, guess what:

"FOX NEWS IS ONLY A CLICK AWAY!"

reply to post by ketsuko


Net neutrality is KEY in keeping the internet free to look up whatever you want. Letting corporations run the internet let's them decide what we should look at. This is a sad day for freedom and destroys the overall spirit of what the internet is.

reply to post by Krazysh0t


So letting the government do that was better?

TheBandit795
This is really bad. Why would Federal Court do this? Are their backs being scratched somehow??

Is the Pope Catholic?

TheBandit795
This is a dark day for our freedom on the internet.

I genuinely don't think you were ever "free" on the Internet. The problem is, we were given the illusion of "freedom". And just enough rope to hang ourselves with.

reply to post by zeroBelief


With freedom I meant, freedom to find any information I can find on the internet. And freedom to visit any site.

People don't understand telcom and really don't care how it works.
All people want is more band width and faster down load time, for less money.
Telcom companys operate with the same thing in mind, more for less.
Band width and speed are sold by volume, like Sams club or costco .
No smart business can profit by buying at retail prices and selling at a higher price.

reply to post by TheBandit795


Wasn't this expected? After all there is no government for the people or by the people. It all falls to the money power, the corporate interests and their lobbying groups. Guess we'll have to start an internet 3.0 eh?

Cheers - Dave

reply to post by bobs_uruncle


Good idea, but the only means of transporting any data is through the existing network.
Good luck with that idea .

The Corporate Oligarchy will continue to do as it pleases. The masses have been dumbed down enough that they will believe anything that comes from a 'trusted' news source. Anyone with alternative news/information sources are paranoid conspiracy theorist who need to be on the terrorist watch list and/or heavily medicated with anti-psychotics.

Welcome to the new America!

reply to post by TheBandit795


It's not over.

gizmodo.com...

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler issued a statement after the ruling by the D.C. Circuit Court:

The D.C. Circuit has correctly held that 'Section 706 . . . vests [the Commission] with affirmative authority to enact measures encouraging the deployment of broadband infrastructure' and therefore may 'promulgate rules governing broadband providers' treatment of Internet traffic.' I am committed to maintaining our networks as engines for economic growth, test beds for innovative services and products, and channels for all forms of speech protected by the First Amendment. We will consider all available
options, including those for appeal, to ensure that these networks on which the Internet depends continue to provide a free and open platform for innovation and expression, and operate in the interest of all Americans.

reply to post by Aleister


I've just seen that part. It wasn't there when they first posted the link. That's a little better news..

reply to post by TheBandit795



Don't you get it my friend, in America money talks and BS walk, it has been like that for ever since the corporate dictatorship has taken power, it is actually unconstitutional, but back then we didn't had an internet, but still the principle stands, free speech is a constitutional right.

Sadly when money moves around as it right now within our once by the people elected politicians that now have to deal with the NSA privately funded black mail everything in this nation is to support and maintain big money enterprises.

Small business as it applies to the economy and the internet are nothing but pesky vermin that take away from revenue and profits for the big private monopolies.

This will be challenged again, unless the corporate dictatorship forces legislation to make it legal on top of the legislation that has been passed to control information exchange.

Should we be worry hell yeah we should as the unbiased references we can find in the net will be eaten up by the privateers and propaganda manufactures that are making America nothing more than another dictatorship when it comes to controlling and sharing information under our freedom of speech rights

But then who I am to blame for ourselves for allowing our nation to have been taken over by those that don't give a crap about the people and only care about their profit margins and the pay offs to their stock holders.

We have lost our nation, our constitution and our rights and we still are doing nothing to fix the problem because the law is working against, us.

reply to post by TheBandit795


Let's hope this goes before the supreme court. Unless I am not seeing the whole picture... If this is allowed to stand, thousands of small internet businesses that rely on unencumbered traffic will go tooters up.

reply to post by TheBandit795


Well, I expected this. Since, according to the Supreme Court, corporations are individuals in possession of free speech.

According to the gizmodo article linked in the OP, it looks like the FCC screwed up by classifying ISP's as Information Services, rather than common carriers. So their net neutrality rules cannot apply:

Given that the Commission has chosen to classify broadband providers in a manner that exempts them from treatment as common carriers, the Communications Act expressly prohibits the Commission from nonetheless regulating them as such. Because the Commission has failed to establish that the anti-discrimination and anti-blocking rules do not impose per se common carrier obligations, we vacate those portions of the Open Internet Order.

I can't see any way that this will benefit the consumer. This ruling only serves to increase the profits of the broadband providers.

The Internet has been a game-changer since its inception. Our entire planet has, to some degree, been altered by the availability of the uncensored Internet. And now the Corporatocracy has even gotten control of that.


Dex