Net Neutrality About to Go the Way of the Dodo?

[ewmayer]

Be Thankful for the Internet as You Know It, Because It May Not Exist Much Longer | naked capitalism

[Nick]

Here in the Netherlands, net neutrality is a legal requirement, though measures at European level may yet weaken it.

[kladner]

Once again, the Netherlands puts other countries to shame.

[ewmayer]

The Web Began Dying in 2014 – Here's How | naked capitalism -- It may seem as though nothing has changed on the web – but since 2014, Google and Facebook hace acquired direct influence over more than 70% of internet traffic. They’re not stopping there.

The following analysis is an extrapolation for the future, based on the current state of the web and strategies made public by executives at GOOG-FB-AMZN.

The War for Net Neutrality in the USA won a battle in 2014, but in 2017 we are seeing a second battle which is more likely to be lost. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are probably soon going to dictate what traffic can or cannot arrive at people’s end devices. GOOG-FB-AMZN traffic would be the most common, due to their popularity among internet users. Because of this market demand, ISPs will likely provide cheap plans with access to GOOG-FB-AMZN, while offering more expensive plans with full internet access. It is already a reality in Portugal. This would grow even more the dominance the three tech giants already enjoy. There would be no more economic incentive for smaller businesses to have independent websites, and a gradual migration towards Facebook Pages would make more sense. Smaller e-commerce sites would be bought by AMZN or go bankrupt. Because most internet users couldn’t open all the sites, GOOG would have little incentive to be a mere bridge between people and sites.
...
Perhaps a future with great user experience in AR, VR, hands-free commerce and knowledge sharing could evoke an optimistic perspective for what these tech giants are building. But 25 years of the Web has gotten us used to foundational freedoms that we take for granted. We forget how useful it has been to remain anonymous and control what we share, or how easy it was to start an internet startup with its own independent servers operating with the same rights GOOG servers have. On the Trinet, if you are permanently banned from GOOG or FB, you would have no alternative. You could even be restricted from creating a new account. As private businesses, GOOG, FB, and AMZN don’t need to guarantee you access to their networks. You do not have a legal right to an account in their servers, and as societies we aren’t demanding for these rights as vehemently as we could, to counter the strategies that tech giants are putting forward.

The web and the internet have represented freedom: efficient and unsupervised exchange of information between people of all nations. In the Trinet, we will have even more vivid exchange of information between people, but we will sacrifice freedom. Many of us will wake up to the tragedy of this tradeoff only once it is reality.

[Dr Sardonicus]

From the "one picture is worth a thousand words" department: FCC and net neutrality

BTW, the page seemed to take rather a long time to load.

[kladner]

It takes a long time for the server to begin to respond.

[kladner]

That's Great! I just left that browser tab waiting, and did other stuff.

I suppose gallows humor is to be expected, given how the world is running at the moment.

[ewmayer]

U.S. regulators ditch net neutrality rules as legal battles loom | Reuters

Some more background on former Verizon lawyer and Big Telecom stooge Ajit Pai, who - in a classic DC "spirit of bipartisanship" kakistocratic fashion - was originally appointed to the FCC by president Obama (an appointment which was unanimously confirmed by the US senate) and then promoted to head the agency by Trump:

o LEAKED: Head Of FCC Mocks Impending Destruction Of The Internet | naked capitalism

And related links:

o Three Unelected Men Just Overrode The Will Of 83% Of The US Population | Caitlin Johnstone

o The FCC Is Blocking a Law Enforcement Investigation Into Net Neutrality Comment Fraud | Motherboard

o No, The FTC Won’t Save You Once Net Neutrality Rules Are Killed | Techdirt

o Here’s a List of the Members of Congress Who Just Told Ajit Pai to Repeal Net Neutrality | Motherboard; Includes handy details on who has taken how much from ISPs.

o FCC Boss Claims Net Neutrality Hurts Small ISPs, But The FCC’s Own Data Proves Otherwise | TechDirt

o FCC’s own chief technology officer warned about net neutrality repeal | Politico

o The Biggest Whoppers From the FCC’s Net Neutrality Meeting | Wired

This last (and at present still in the hypothetical realm) aspect might actually be a good thing, though I prefer actual SEC-style financial regulations as a way to curb the unregulated and fraud-riddled craziness in the sector:

o How The Net Neutrality Vote May Block Bitcoin And Cryptocurrency Trading | International Business Times

[Dr Sardonicus]

Originally Posted by ewmayer

U.S. regulators ditch net neutrality rules as legal battles loom | Reuters

Some more background on former Verizon lawyer and Big Telecom stooge Ajit Pai, who - in a classic DC "spirit of bipartisanship" kakistocratic fashion - was originally appointed to the FCC by president Obama (an appointment which was unanimously confirmed by the US senate) and then promoted to head the agency by Trump:

o LEAKED: Head Of FCC Mocks Impending Destruction Of The Internet | naked capitalism

And related links:

o Three Unelected Men Just Overrode The Will Of 83% Of The US Population | Caitlin Johnstone

o The FCC Is Blocking a Law Enforcement Investigation Into Net Neutrality Comment Fraud | Motherboard

o No, The FTC Won’t Save You Once Net Neutrality Rules Are Killed | Techdirt

o Here’s a List of the Members of Congress Who Just Told Ajit Pai to Repeal Net Neutrality | Motherboard; Includes handy details on who has taken how much from ISPs.

o FCC Boss Claims Net Neutrality Hurts Small ISPs, But The FCC’s Own Data Proves Otherwise | TechDirt

o FCC’s own chief technology officer warned about net neutrality repeal | Politico

o The Biggest Whoppers From the FCC’s Net Neutrality Meeting | Wired

This last (and at present still in the hypothetical realm) aspect might actually be a good thing, though I prefer actual SEC-style financial regulations as a way to curb the unregulated and fraud-riddled craziness in the sector:

o How The Net Neutrality Vote May Block Bitcoin And Cryptocurrency Trading | International Business Times

Gee, that's funny. None of those sites seem to be available any more.
:-D

[M344587487]

Originally Posted by ewmayer

...

This last (and at present still in the hypothetical realm) aspect might actually be a good thing, though I prefer actual SEC-style financial regulations as a way to curb the unregulated and fraud-riddled craziness in the sector:

o How The Net Neutrality Vote May Block Bitcoin And Cryptocurrency Trading | International Business Times

Not to derail this thread, but how can underhandedly trying to cripple crypto trading possibly be a good thing? There have already been inroads into regulating crypto, particularly at the exchanges between crypto and fiat, where you now have to provide photo id and other identifying information. Legitimisation like that is the way forward, not criminalisation to spread FUD and maintain control. As for fraud-riddled craziness, what are you referring to? The biggest crypto criminal acts I can think of are exchanges getting hacked, which requires proper detective work to resolve.

[kladner]

Originally Posted by Dr Sardonicus

Gee, that's funny. None of those sites seem to be available any more.
:-D

I did not hit on all the links, but every one I did, came through. 2017/12/16, 19:15 CST US.