Okay guys this is about Net Neutrality and this shit is important!
[Update 3-21]
I've been seeing a lot Net Neutrality articles lately and a lot of them concern FCC chairman, Ajit Pai himself. From news that the NRA has given him an award for, "Protecting free speech" and "saving the internet". To the possibility of Pai being sued for using "The Harlem Shake" in one of his propaganda videos without permission. And the much more positive news of several US states filing their own bills in order to impose Net Neutrality rules on ISP's regardless of what the repeal says.
I just read a piece from ArsTechnica that made me come here for another update because I feel it's worth sharing with you all. The article calls Pai out, a few times in fact, for just outright lying and presenting old information as new and factual all thanks to the new rules -Which, by the way, haven't been imposed yet. I don't know this guy keeps getting away with spewing sewage in the street and calling it gold.
Here's a link to the article from ArsTechnica I highly suggest reading it and it's comments.
[Update 2-26]
Today is the 26th of February and tomorrow the 27th the last major stand against the repeal of Net Neutrality will take place. Fight for the Future is an advocacy group that has put together a hashtag #OneMoreVote in a last ditch effort to bring people together in order to appeal the death of Net Neutrality. In a quote taken from Polygon- "Only one more vote in the Senate is needed to take the case to the House of Representatives, where cosponsors can vote to block the repeal of net neutrality. If unsuccessful, net neutrality will be repealed in April."
This is it folks. Our 60 day grace period since the official FCC vote to repeal is up. Telecomms are already changing policies and if something isn't done, we're just a few days from the new rules taking effect. Check out the links above and get the info you need to get into the fight if you haven't done so already.
[Update 1-24]
Burger King
Weirdly, Burger King has jumped on board the no repeal train with a really good neutrality analogue. Anyone who still may not understand exactly what's going to happen to the internet should watch the video below. In said video you'll see B.K. playing the role of a telecom who is imposing the new Whopper Neutrality rules upon its customers and it's a pretty entertaining and insightful spot.
[Update 12-15]
As you likely know by now the FCC has voted in a three to two vote to end Net Neutrality. This in itself is a nightmare. But thankfully for those of us who want to keep Net Neutrality alive and kicking we still have a glimmer of hope in this sea of darkness.
What Happens Now?
Well the good news is: Nothing can really happen yet.
Sure the telecomms are already making plans and even changing their terms service as we speak. But the new rules can't go into effect for at least 60 days. Even when they do it will probably be a slow roll out and start in a seemingly benign manner. I.E. -slow laning and paid prioritization access speed boost offers.
Hopefully though, it won't even get that far. This is where our first spark in the ashes comes from. Even though the FCC have killed neutral internet, not everyone on that board agreed to it. Not only that but the two seats that disagreed, Jessica Rosenworcel and Mignon Clyburn, made impassioned speeches as to why they dissented against it. That means, at least for now, that we still have friends in the FCC. This is very positive news.
On top of that, Congress itself still has to vote the repeal of Net Neutrality through to allow the rules to take hold. Keep in mind that Congress knows the repeal is massively unpopular and sees that the FCC has intentionally ignored public opinion. Again, more good news for us. Even better is that more than 80% of both party lines in Congress are against the repeal as it stands already. Several members from both parties made attempts to talk Ajit Pai down from his soap box and stop the vote from ending the way it did yesterday. Both houses agree strongly to keep the repeal from happening. It's common ground and that's a big deal because remember, Net Neutrality is not a political issue. It is in fact a human rights issue and that means that there's a fair chance that bipartisanship won't play a role in the final decision.
Guys, that means it's not too late. Please keep making those calls and writing those letters and emails. Make your voice heard. There are links just below in the previous update and also at the end of this article that will take you Reddit where there are options at hand to take action. You can also text BATTLE to 384-387 to get started easily. And I'll add this link here for yet another option just in case links have been broken or removed.
If That Still Doesn't Work..
The Free Press is planning to sue as well as the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation). Multiple states are also putting together a case to sue in order to keep our internet free and open. Another important thing to remember is that Net Neutrality has not been made illegal, it's just being repealed. That means individual states can also make laws that force the telecomms to follow Net Neutrality rules regardless of the repeal.
These are time consuming, expensive, difficult options that will likely be litigated for a long time. So even if they're successful it probably won't save us from being affected for some time.
So It Looks Bad
Yeah it definitely does look bad. The ball is already rolling but as long as we keep fighting and pressuring our state and federal representatives we have at least some hope.
As always if you need more info on Net Neutrality keep reading below and by all means watch the videos at the end of the article and search for more on YouTube. If you use the internet you are for Net Neutrality. But don't just take my angry word for it, educate yourself on this from many sources and please, please, make yourself heard.
[Update 12-13]
This happens tomorrow guys! We are in fact now just one day from losing our internet freedom. Today is our last chance to do what ever we possibly can to let congress know we do not stand for the repealing of Net Neutrality. Read on if you need more info. If you already know what's going on with this potential disaster please check out the link that I've brought up here to the top of the article and make yourself heard.
[Original Article 11-30]
So First Off In Basic Terms, What Is Net Neutrality?
Net Neutraility (and yes I'm capitalizing it 'cos again, this shit is important) is essentially a statement that says if you want access to the internet you pay for that access and then can look at the internet. All of it. Nobody can say what content you should be looking at. Your Internet Service Provider can't throttle your connection because they feel like it. No company can pay to have their web content prioritized over anyone else's. You as a customer pay one price for your full and complete access to the internet to look at whatever content you damn well please. As long as it's legal, let's not forget that.
What Happens If We Lose Net Neutrality?
If we lose Net Neutrality it will give companies the right to prioritize content. So let's set that up again in basic terms. Let's just say you have two hardware stores in your city and they both have web sites but are directly in competition with each other. One store could pay their service provider enough money to slow down the competitor store's web site making it so difficult for people to access that they'll just use the faster site instead. Or worse, block the other store's web site completely making it impossible to be viewed by anyone who doesn't want to pay for access to that web site. Now scale that up to include big corporations and let that sink in a little. Not pretty.
Just The Tip
Well that's what you're being told anyway...
All seriousness though, that's just the tip of that stupidly unstable ice berg. What can (and is very likely to) also happen is that major providers will begin making internet plans like those you see for satellite TV. Want to watch Youtube? Make sure it's in your plan or you'll have to pay extra to see that part of the internet. Twitch? Steam? GoG? Home Depot? Make sure your plan includes access or you'll be paying loads more money. Want to watch those videos in HD? Well, fork over more cash or get the eff out. At the very least you could have such slow access to web content that it'll incentivize updating your internet bundle. But hey, at least you'll be able to get a new plan with the first 3 months at $50 per month right? And then it'll jump back to $250 per month or some other ridiculous arbitrary number.
Not to mention those who live in tiny rural areas like I do. Our local ISP's are not likely to survive because mega corps now own the internet. We don't have Comcast here. Or Verizon internet etc. What could happen is that local ISP's will have to pay whatever company they have to for their portion of access to the web. Meaning that they have to raise their prices so high in order to provide service that people won't pay; because internet speeds are already so low in our areas that it won't be worth the cost. Thus leading to the loss of customers and the eventual failure of those ISP's because if they in turn can't pay, they can't play.
Also under the loss of Net Neutrailty, new ISP's including the mega corporations coming to a new area (like mine) don't have to provide fiber connections and can abandon copper lines all together. Meaning folks like myself would be stuck with bullshit, unstable wireless internet. That's assuming that they even expand to an area like this in the first place. Such a small increase in revenue might not even be deemed worth the cost of bringing service here. So worst case, where I live and many places just like where I live, will just have to do without internet service.
Such Freedom!
It sounds like I'm just feeding conspiracy theory but you guys, this is coming. Ajit Pai (the leader of this whole campaign and commissioner of the FCC) is the guy who's spinning all the rhetoric of Net Neutrality being being a bad thing. Saying that repealing Net Neutrality is actually the best thing for us because corporations like Comcast or Verizon etc. will just do the right thing. They'll be able to innovate and provide people with choices and freedom.
Yeah fucking right! What a giant load of steaming shit covered baking hot garbage that is!
We already have internet freedom. We currently pay a single fee that fits our needs. Whether 25 mbps or up to 1700 mbps if you're lucky enough to live in an area that has that kind of bandwidth. Some people still use dial-up for crying out loud. But you know what? Every one of those people and every single family can all access the entire internet without being told that that they have to pay extra to see a cat play a piano in 1080p! Or that the content they want to look at is blocked by a competitor because that competitor paid more money to prioritize their content instead.
What Can You Do?
Well sadly, not too damn much! The people controlling this whole caustic puke puddle are appointed officials. Meaning we can't vote them out. The only thing we as people can do is contact our local congressmen and women and plead with them to fight for the continuation of Net Neutrality. Send E-mails, make phone calls, write letters, whatever it takes to peacefully and legally make yourself heard.
Right here is a link to lots of ways to get your voice out there. Please go there and pick an option. At least one. It's the only shot we have. Because if the decision is made to repeal a neutral internet there is virtually no chance of ever having that decision reversed. There's just too much money in it, and that is what this is all about. --Big companies milking consumers for every dollar they have to access something that very nearly everyone needs in order to conduct a normal daily life under the guise of providing choices and freedom.