Battle of Net Neutrality: New Hope
Almost five months have passed since the decision of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to abolish the rules of network neutrality in the United States. In March, we wrote that this event caused resistance from senators, technology companies, and even entire states. The movement to maintain net neutrality has since only gained momentum.
We will understand who and how opposed to the FCC decision and when the new rules will come into force.
/ Flickr / Backbone Campaign / CC
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In March, several states began to prepare for the preservation of the rules of network neutrality in their territories. Among them are Montana, Washington, California, New York, Rhode Island, Nebraska, Massachusetts.
Today, the movement for the legislative preservation of network neutrality is already underway in almost half of the states. Defenders of the repealed rules are opposed by large telecommunications companies such as AT & T and Comcast. Throughout the history of the issue, they opposed net neutrality. However, states do not surrender.
In April, the governor of Oregon, Kate Brown (Kate Brown) signed a bill that prohibits government agencies to enter into contracts with suppliers who do not comply with "fair access rules." Kansas, Tennessee and Wisconsin followed the same path. This approach only partly helps states achieve their goal, but does not return net neutrality — local law does not apply to local monopolists. If a telecommunications company in the region has no competitors, it will not be able to limit it in this way.
The Governor of Rhode Island, Gina Raimondo, like her Oregon counterpart, issued an order for government agencies in April. They can also use the services of only those providers that comply with the rules of net neutrality.
In the meantime, a vote in California was supported by the bill , which is intended to be an alternative to the FCC decision. Two specialized committees advocated a ban on slowing down or blocking access to content. This is the first step towards the adoption of state law. AT & T, Comcast, Charter, Cox and other telecommunications companies are opposed to local regulation in California. Opponents of a return to net neutrality believe that the proposed bill is “too strict” compared to FCC rules.
New York lawmakers are going to take advantage of the California experience. If the law passes in these two states, almost one-fifth of the US population will be subject to net neutrality rules, despite FCC decisions.
A similar bill was rejected in April in Connecticut. One of the republican senators took advantage of the right to not allow the draft before voting. However, in early May, the bill returned to consideration and is now awaiting approval.
Advocates of net neutrality are not only legislators, but ordinary citizens as well. The results of the April University of Maryland poll show that 86% of the country opposes the FCC decision.
The elimination of network neutrality rules along with the scandal about the leak of data from Facebook is called the reason for the growing popularity of VPN among Americans. According to a report by Edison Trends, two weeks after the Commission’s December vote, the number of paid VPN subscriptions has more than doubled.
The human rights organizations Free Press, Demand Progress and Daily Kos have launched an online campaign that allows US citizens to send a letter to the mayors of their cities to support network neutrality. Due to this, more than 100 mayors signed an agreement on bringing Internet providers to account for violations of the rules of network neutrality.
The split in the Commission led to the resignation of one of the five FCC commissioners - Mignon Clyburn, the former head of the Commission. In April, she voluntarily left the FCC after eight years of work. Mignon is a supporter of net neutrality. She believes that her activities can now bring "more good" if she leaves the Commission. After the departure of Mignon, one defender of the repealed rules remained in the Commission - Jessica Roznvorcel (Jessica Rosenworcel).
Private companies that oppose the FCC decision - Etsy, Tumblr, Postmates, Foursquare, Twilio and others - do not back down from their position. Together they prepared the campaign "Red Alert for Net Neutrality". On their websites, they inform about the problem of network neutrality and urge visitors to let Congress know about their disagreement with the decision of the FCC.
Previously, several technology companies, such as Vimeo, Mozilla, Kickstarter, Foursquare and Etsy, filed lawsuits in court to preserve net neutrality rules. These cases are still in production. The American Entertainment Software Association (ESA) is going to join their protest. It consists of such major game developers as Electronic Arts, Konami and Capcom.
In early May, the ESA filed an application for permission to participate in a lawsuit against the FCC. The official position of the association is this: the abandonment of the rules of network neutrality can hamper the download of applications and the work of multiplayer online games. The FCC decision cancels the rules prohibiting providers from slowing down traffic, and games require reliable Internet access.
Recall that more than 40 participants, including such giants as Amazon, Google, Facebook and Netflix, are already among technological companies that are in favor of maintaining network neutrality and are ready to fight for it in court.
/ Flickr / Tim Pierce / CC
The FCC decision enters into force in stages. In December 2017, members of the Commission voted to abolish the rules, but it was only in February that the decision was officially published in the Federal Register. Part of the new rules came into force on April 23, 60 days after publication in the registry. But in fact, net neutrality in the United States can be canceled 50 days after the Office of Management and Budget has completed its review of the changes.
On April 23, the “rollback” procedure to the old rules was launched - this was what Twitter’s lawmakers called it. Significant changes will occur after the final decision of the Office.
Network neutrality can still stand , despite the efforts of the operators and the Commission. An obstacle for the FCC was not only state bills and technology company lawsuits, but also the Congressional Review Act. This is a law that authorizes Congress to revise new federal rules issued by state bodies and repeal them by adopting a joint resolution by the Senate. If Congress votes to fully restore net neutrality rules, the FCC will not be able to cancel these rules in the future.
As reported by the Free Press, most senators are set to cancel the FCC decision. All 49 Democrats support the resolution along with the Republican Senator from the State of Maine. Supporters of net neutrality in Congress have only 60 days to take advantage of the revision law. Deadline - June 12th. On May 9, senators filed a petition that would allow a vote to be reversed by the FCC.
As senators themselves admit, the likelihood of a legislative return of net neutrality is not high. The decision to cancel the December voting results of the FCC must be approved by the House of Representatives and President Donald Trump. The difficulty lies in the fact that the president and most of the congressmen of the lower house support the December decision of the Commission. Therefore, the outcome of voting in the Senate, even if it is held, can in no way change the situation.
PS A few more articles from the corporate blog VAS Experts:
PPS Other parts of the story about the “Battle of Network Neutrality”:
We will understand who and how opposed to the FCC decision and when the new rules will come into force.
/ Flickr / Backbone Campaign / CC
')
Battle for "your" network neutrality
In March, several states began to prepare for the preservation of the rules of network neutrality in their territories. Among them are Montana, Washington, California, New York, Rhode Island, Nebraska, Massachusetts.
Today, the movement for the legislative preservation of network neutrality is already underway in almost half of the states. Defenders of the repealed rules are opposed by large telecommunications companies such as AT & T and Comcast. Throughout the history of the issue, they opposed net neutrality. However, states do not surrender.
In April, the governor of Oregon, Kate Brown (Kate Brown) signed a bill that prohibits government agencies to enter into contracts with suppliers who do not comply with "fair access rules." Kansas, Tennessee and Wisconsin followed the same path. This approach only partly helps states achieve their goal, but does not return net neutrality — local law does not apply to local monopolists. If a telecommunications company in the region has no competitors, it will not be able to limit it in this way.
The Governor of Rhode Island, Gina Raimondo, like her Oregon counterpart, issued an order for government agencies in April. They can also use the services of only those providers that comply with the rules of net neutrality.
In the meantime, a vote in California was supported by the bill , which is intended to be an alternative to the FCC decision. Two specialized committees advocated a ban on slowing down or blocking access to content. This is the first step towards the adoption of state law. AT & T, Comcast, Charter, Cox and other telecommunications companies are opposed to local regulation in California. Opponents of a return to net neutrality believe that the proposed bill is “too strict” compared to FCC rules.
New York lawmakers are going to take advantage of the California experience. If the law passes in these two states, almost one-fifth of the US population will be subject to net neutrality rules, despite FCC decisions.
A similar bill was rejected in April in Connecticut. One of the republican senators took advantage of the right to not allow the draft before voting. However, in early May, the bill returned to consideration and is now awaiting approval.
General protest
Advocates of net neutrality are not only legislators, but ordinary citizens as well. The results of the April University of Maryland poll show that 86% of the country opposes the FCC decision.
The elimination of network neutrality rules along with the scandal about the leak of data from Facebook is called the reason for the growing popularity of VPN among Americans. According to a report by Edison Trends, two weeks after the Commission’s December vote, the number of paid VPN subscriptions has more than doubled.
The human rights organizations Free Press, Demand Progress and Daily Kos have launched an online campaign that allows US citizens to send a letter to the mayors of their cities to support network neutrality. Due to this, more than 100 mayors signed an agreement on bringing Internet providers to account for violations of the rules of network neutrality.
The split in the Commission led to the resignation of one of the five FCC commissioners - Mignon Clyburn, the former head of the Commission. In April, she voluntarily left the FCC after eight years of work. Mignon is a supporter of net neutrality. She believes that her activities can now bring "more good" if she leaves the Commission. After the departure of Mignon, one defender of the repealed rules remained in the Commission - Jessica Roznvorcel (Jessica Rosenworcel).
Private companies that oppose the FCC decision - Etsy, Tumblr, Postmates, Foursquare, Twilio and others - do not back down from their position. Together they prepared the campaign "Red Alert for Net Neutrality". On their websites, they inform about the problem of network neutrality and urge visitors to let Congress know about their disagreement with the decision of the FCC.
Previously, several technology companies, such as Vimeo, Mozilla, Kickstarter, Foursquare and Etsy, filed lawsuits in court to preserve net neutrality rules. These cases are still in production. The American Entertainment Software Association (ESA) is going to join their protest. It consists of such major game developers as Electronic Arts, Konami and Capcom.
In early May, the ESA filed an application for permission to participate in a lawsuit against the FCC. The official position of the association is this: the abandonment of the rules of network neutrality can hamper the download of applications and the work of multiplayer online games. The FCC decision cancels the rules prohibiting providers from slowing down traffic, and games require reliable Internet access.
Recall that more than 40 participants, including such giants as Amazon, Google, Facebook and Netflix, are already among technological companies that are in favor of maintaining network neutrality and are ready to fight for it in court.
/ Flickr / Tim Pierce / CC
When will net neutrality be canceled?
The FCC decision enters into force in stages. In December 2017, members of the Commission voted to abolish the rules, but it was only in February that the decision was officially published in the Federal Register. Part of the new rules came into force on April 23, 60 days after publication in the registry. But in fact, net neutrality in the United States can be canceled 50 days after the Office of Management and Budget has completed its review of the changes.
On April 23, the “rollback” procedure to the old rules was launched - this was what Twitter’s lawmakers called it. Significant changes will occur after the final decision of the Office.
Network neutrality can still stand , despite the efforts of the operators and the Commission. An obstacle for the FCC was not only state bills and technology company lawsuits, but also the Congressional Review Act. This is a law that authorizes Congress to revise new federal rules issued by state bodies and repeal them by adopting a joint resolution by the Senate. If Congress votes to fully restore net neutrality rules, the FCC will not be able to cancel these rules in the future.
As reported by the Free Press, most senators are set to cancel the FCC decision. All 49 Democrats support the resolution along with the Republican Senator from the State of Maine. Supporters of net neutrality in Congress have only 60 days to take advantage of the revision law. Deadline - June 12th. On May 9, senators filed a petition that would allow a vote to be reversed by the FCC.
As senators themselves admit, the likelihood of a legislative return of net neutrality is not high. The decision to cancel the December voting results of the FCC must be approved by the House of Representatives and President Donald Trump. The difficulty lies in the fact that the president and most of the congressmen of the lower house support the December decision of the Commission. Therefore, the outcome of voting in the Senate, even if it is held, can in no way change the situation.
PS A few more articles from the corporate blog VAS Experts:
- What will happen to Internet providers after July 1, 2018
- IPv6 protocol - from theory to practice
- How to conduct cyber attacks: 6 stages
PPS Other parts of the story about the “Battle of Network Neutrality”:
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/358416/
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