FCC ABANDONS Net Neutrality Compromise

[TampaYankee]

FCC ABANDONS Efforts At Net Neutrality Compromise

JOELLE TESSLER | 08/ 5/10 05:48 PM | AP

WASHINGTON — Federal regulators are abandoning efforts to negotiate a compromise on so-called "network neutrality" rules intended to ensure that phone and cable TV companies cannot discriminate against Internet traffic traveling over their broadband lines.

The announcement Thursday by the Federal Communications Commission ends weeks of FCC-brokered talks to reach an agreement on the thorny issue among a handful of big phone, cable TV and Internet companies. And it comes as two big companies that have been taking part in those talks – Verizon Communications Inc. and Google Inc. – try to hammer out their own separate proposal on how broadband providers should treat Internet traffic.

Verizon and Google expect to unveil their proposal within days and hope it will provide a framework for net neutrality legislation in Congress, said several people briefed on the negotiations between the companies. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks were confidential.

But according to one person close to the FCC talks, the deal also undermined the discussions taking place at the FCC. This person said FCC officials fear that the proposal from Google and Verizon does not do enough to prevent phone and cable companies from using their control over broadband connections to become online gatekeepers. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski is seeking to adopt rules that would require phone and cable companies to give equal treatment to all broadband traffic.

"We have called off this round of stakeholder discussions," FCC Chief of Staff Edward Lazarus said in a statement. "It has been productive on several fronts, but has not generated a robust framework to preserve the openness and freedom of the Internet – one that drives innovation, investment, free speech, and consumer choice. All options remain on the table as we continue to seek broad input on this vital issue."

[Guest twinklover]

Here's more on this important topic. Anyone in a position to influence this outcome should do so, especially with pressure on Google. This is a big deal. I hope Google will do the right thing. I love Google as a net resource, use them all the time, and they deny some of the accusations. http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/company-news/google-denies-pact-with-verizon-on-tiered-services/19582422/

[Guest Klair]

I really hate it when government or big business starts deciding things for me and as an added attraction start charging me for the privilege. I see this as yet another bite eroding freedom just so large corporations, already rich beyond imagination, can be even more greedy than they already are.

I guess I'm just naive, but I see this as a violation of anti trust laws or what I always thought the intent of anti trust laws is supposed to be.

[BiBottomBoy]

Europe has been trying to nail Google on anti-trust shit for years.

[lookin]

Here's more on this important topic. Anyone in a position to influence this outcome should do so, especially with pressure on Google. This is a big deal. I hope Google will do the right thing. I love Google as a net resource, use them all the time, and they deny some of the accusations. http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/company-news/google-denies-pact-with-verizon-on-tiered-services/19582422/

The Progressive Change Campaign Committee is delivering an open letter to Google next week, asking them to honor their corporate motto and not be evil. There are already more than a quarter million signatures, and the idea is to send a clear message to Google that its users are watching.

It would definitely be a buzzkill to find tomcal's Rio sauna boy pictures and eeyore's videos slow to a crawl. But what if this evening's escort profile stops loading just below the belly button? Anyone who wants to offer a website with usable graphic content would have to pay for the privilege, and that usually means charging user fees, becoming a megasite with lots of advertising, or just shutting down completely - a real stake in the heart for the little guy.

Even worse, phone service, radio, and television are increasingly delivered over the internet. How clearly and quickly do you want your phone call to go through?

One thing that really frosts my butt is that the internet was developed with taxpayer money beginning with a DARPA project in the mid-sixties. Sticking a private company's tollbooth in the middle of it seems to me analogous to sticking one on I-90.

You might consider signing the PCCC's letter if you're so inclined.

[BiBottomBoy]

My feeling is that fairly soon Verizon and Google will become victims of 4Chan and /b/ and then decide this whole idea isn't worth it.