*Are some versions of the Internet more equal than others?
The Federal Communications Commission passed its first-ever regulation of the Internet today, in a net neutrality compromise that saw its 3-2 vote split sharply along party lines.
The full text of the new regulations will not be published until later this week, but the broad strokes of the deal are now known. There will be two sets of regulations governing the way an Internet service provider is allowed to control your access, depending on whether you are accessing the Net wirelessly or via a landline.
Broadband service providers will be forbidden from blocking access to any legal Internet sites and services from any “unreasonable” discrimination against data. In real-world terms, this means ISPs will not be allowed to slow traffic on a website — say, YouTube — that competes with a service they offer.
Providers will be allowed greater leeway in how to manage their networks. For instance, they will be allowed to charge websites more for faster access but will also be forced to disclose how they are handling the traffic on those networks.
Find out more HERE.
Candidate BARACK OBAMA: “I will take a backseat to no one in my commitment to network neutrality, because once providers start to privilege some applications or websites over others, then the smaller voices get squeezed out and we all lose. The internet is perhaps the most open network history, and we have to keep it that way.”
But the FCC chair which Obama appointed, went about doing the exact opposite, with Obama’s approval.
But didn’t we see the same flip flop on health care reform regarding the public option?
This is another sellout, equal in magnitude to the great health care reform sellout to the insurance companies. It’s the same play book, where Obama duped us into believing that we were getting something, when in fact, it is the corporations who will be smiling all the way to the bank.
While Slick Willie Obama brags about the removal of preexisting conditions, he doesn’t mention that the insurance companies are set to have a net gain of billions from the new customers, thanks to his insurance mandate and the absence of a public option.
With net neutrality, we have the same scam. Yes, everything will be neutral with wired networks, but the telecom corporations know that the growth is in wireless. Everybody is now getting smart phones and I-Pads. Pretty soon, all our internet activity will be done wirelessly. So in effect, net neutrality will be a moot concept.
As Sen. Al Franken said, If the FCC passes this weak rule, Verizon will be able to cut off access to the Google Maps app on your phone and force you to use their own mapping program, Verizon Navigator, even if it is not as good. And even if they charge money, when Google Maps is free.
But even with this coup handed the Telecom providers by Obama, the Republicans are still not satisfied. They would prefer if the Telecom providers had the right to slow down both landline and wireless networks.
This still doesn’t excuse Obama’s behavior.
Obama, still “pro-Pentagon, pro-Wall Street, and still doesn’t have a transformative bone in his body regarding either race or class.”