Net Neutrality - What is at risk? Thread

Hey Indie/Moddb,

Normally I do not post about the internet and politics but this is really important and can affect how we interact with each other on a daily basis.But this needs to be talked about - The FCC and big name cable companies (Comcast, Verizon, Timer Warner Cable, etc.) are trying to kill net neutrally we have until midnight Tuesday night to make a difference.

What is net neutrality?
Wikipedia Version
TL;DR Version
What can you do?
There is currently an open comments section on the FCC website you can go here Battleforthenet.com to file a comment. However they close Tuesday night at midnight.

How does this impact us?
If the cable companies are allowed to get away with killing net neutrality we will all have to pay more for slower service and very well might have our civil liberties endangered. Things we take for grated every day such as Freedom of speech and the like are very well in danger here as well.

This is important and should be talked about. Companies such as Google, Facebook and others have stepped up to challenge Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Verizon, etc. But they need the help of the average joe as well. Stand up and be heard!

- HeadClot

Dang it why was my formatting not kept?

Edited by: HeadClot

HeadClot wrote: Freedom of speech and the like are very well in danger here as well.

What? I'm 99% sure this has nothing to do with freedom of speech.

Anyway, thanks for the info.

On one hand, it could tip against freedom of speech. Just like this site has its own rules about what your can and can't add to it, just like a Facebook has rules as to what you can post, it could put the net in a place where the ISPs could decide x, y, x information will be banned from the internet.

But also, this thread is over half a year old and speaks to the hyperbole of politics...it's always "we have till ______ make a difference" (not knocking the OP, that's the way it always is)...even today, the FCC and their net neutrality are at the top of the news

HeadClot wrote:
If the cable companies are allowed to get away with killing net neutrality we will all have to pay more for slower service and very well might have our civil liberties endangered. Things we take for grated every day such as Freedom of speech and the like are very well in danger here as well.

This is important and should be talked about. Companies such as Google, Facebook and others have stepped up to challenge Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Verizon, etc. But they need the help of the average joe as well. Stand up and be heard!

You've got it WAY wrong. The Cable companies are, at least in part, responsible to their customers who will go to a different internet provider if they provide slower, more expensive internet. What the cable companies proposed doing with Netflix and other video streaming sites was ask those companies to pay to be put in, metaphorically, express lanes. Video streaming eats up a lot of internet bandwidth, and if Netflix videos are put on their own path, then not only will those videos be faster but so will loading your favorite websites.

The government, more specifically, the FCC, however, is proposing to classify the internet as a public utility as classified under the Telecommunications Act of 1934. An act originally proposed for the telephone industry, which stopped telecommunications innovation in its tracks for 50 years. The only innovation that occurred was the upgrade from rotary to dial phones. The very moment that phones were de-regulated, wireless land-line phones came about, and development began on various corporate intranet networks, including Xerox's, which should be better known as the grandfather of the internet itself.

Net Neutrality is dangerous for the internet in the extreme. Believe me when I say they're lying to you when they say they want to make sure we have a free and open internet. When has the government's growing influence in anything ever resulted in anything becoming more free and open?

Breitbart.com

You are correct

Edited by: TheLovelyRealm