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President Obama Calls for a Free and Open Internet

whitehouse.gov

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Re: President Obama Calls for a Free and Open Internet

#61

Post by ctdonath »

wylee wrote: post #38
yc1010 wrote: post #6

I am not American (feel free to ignore my opinion) but this is just a bad joke from someone who seems to be an utmost failure. Especially in light of last week FBI/NSA/DHS undermining TOR and killing its utility for any dissidents and free speech in authoritarian states. Under his watch the surveillance state has expanded and has become downright creepy 25 years after the fall of the Berlin wall we should be saying "…

I'm not a huge fan of Obama, but do you really think the surveillance state was created during his presidency? This type of thing has been going on... well, probably forever. It's gotten more sophisticated in the Internet age, but that started before Obama too.

It wasn't created under him, but now is his opportunity to do something positive about it. His track record on the subject hasn't been good for the last 6 years; here's hoping the next 2 will prove substantially better.

Re: President Obama Calls for a Free and Open Internet

#62

Post by [deleted] »

eps wrote: post #35
untog wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please don't complain about downvotes, it just makes people downvote you more. And I suspect the reason you're being downvoted in the first place is that the TC post is about net neutrality and not government spying. While the two are connected (they both involve the internet, after all) they're different topics. If we refuse net neutrality until we also disband the NSA then we'll just lose on two counts.

> Please don't complain about downvotes, it just makes people downvote you more. No, of course it doesn't. And, no, there's nothing wrong with complaining about the downvotes as there' heck of a lot of knee-jerk downvoting happening on HN. Almost as much as righteous preaching about proper HN "etiquette", but not as damaging in the long run.

[deleted]

Re: President Obama Calls for a Free and Open Internet

#63

Post by VLM »

mvd366 wrote: post #13
higherpurpose wrote: post #4

Since I have zero trust in Obama these days, I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop - or to see what's Obama's angle in this. Is he doing it because he already knows a Republican-backed Congress and FCC have already made up their minds against net neutrality - and he just wants to be remembered that "he tried"? Or is he supporting full net neutrality because that would give the government much more control over the I…

I don't understand this mentality. If Obama comes out as against Net Neutrality, it's him being evil. If he comes out in favor of it, he's lying. I understand politicians often have ulterior motives but from the information provided, this is exactly what the majority of citizens were asking him (and the FCC) to do.

"often"? Try only. The problem is a cognitive dissonance, in that hired/owned men only do what their masters pay them to do. So following the money, who told him to propose this and make his speech?

So its a story either way, either he has new owners paying him to say this kind of stuff (who is paying for this point of view?), or the guys who do pay him are going to be really angry that he's being a loose cannon. Either way the reaction will be interesting to watch.

Re: President Obama Calls for a Free and Open Internet

#64

Post by yequalsx »

wylee wrote: post #38
yc1010 wrote: post #6

I am not American (feel free to ignore my opinion) but this is just a bad joke from someone who seems to be an utmost failure. Especially in light of last week FBI/NSA/DHS undermining TOR and killing its utility for any dissidents and free speech in authoritarian states. Under his watch the surveillance state has expanded and has become downright creepy 25 years after the fall of the Berlin wall we should be saying "…

I'm not a huge fan of Obama, but do you really think the surveillance state was created during his presidency? This type of thing has been going on... well, probably forever. It's gotten more sophisticated in the Internet age, but that started before Obama too.

It did not start with Obama and by all accounts it was not stopped, slowed or in any way diminished by him. I think the backlash is from people who thought he'd be different and embrace a different mindset than the one he apparently has. He was a constitutional law professor and the hope that he'd be different than what he is was quite a let down.

Re: President Obama Calls for a Free and Open Internet

#65

Post by stephengoodwin »

The current Chairman for the FCC is Tom Wheeler. He is a former lobbyist for two telecommunications associations:

* National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) (from 1976 to 1984, becoming president in 1979)[1]

* Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA) (from 1992 to 2004, serving as CEO)[1]

[1] http://www.fcc.gov/leadership/tom-wheeler

Re: President Obama Calls for a Free and Open Internet

#66

Post by bushido »

couchand wrote: post #27
AndrewHampton wrote: post #9

Here's the thing that bothers me the most about a lot of the talk about net neutrality by government officials: > If a consumer requests access to a website or service, and the content is legal, your ISP should not be permitted to block it. Specifically "and the content is legal" is what raises a flag for me. I've seen similar phrases in nearly everything I've read coming from any government official regarding net ne…

It's a pretty massive stretch to go from "ISPs are permitted to block illegal traffic" to "ISPs are required to perform deep-packet inspection to ensure the legality of all traffic they carry".

Those two statements from a legal (writing) perspective are mutually exclusive, sort of. One is a Right and the other is a law. But both need to exist is some form to make the other possible.

Also, they both require the same technology to be automated and possible. The main constraint for the latter is computational power.

Re: President Obama Calls for a Free and Open Internet

#67

Post by thenmar »

xnull2guest wrote: post #54
mpweiher wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are the same thing: in order to protect net neutrality (the free and open internet), you need strong regulation, it doesn't happen by itself.

Or you need competition (see how ISPs work in Britain and some places in Europe). Or you need socialization (see how ISPs work in South Korea). Regulation isn't the only solution.

Isn't the competition in Britain only possible because regulations require companies to share infrastructure?

Re: President Obama Calls for a Free and Open Internet

#68

Post by psykovsky »

dragonwriter wrote: post #40
AndrewHampton wrote: post #9

Here's the thing that bothers me the most about a lot of the talk about net neutrality by government officials: > If a consumer requests access to a website or service, and the content is legal, your ISP should not be permitted to block it. Specifically "and the content is legal" is what raises a flag for me. I've seen similar phrases in nearly everything I've read coming from any government official regarding net ne…

I think the concern is somewhat misplaced, because we've already seen the FCC take multiple stabs at regulations on net neutrality, that have been based on the principle of no or limited interference with lawful content, and they haven't required inspection of traffic. Its not a requirement that ISPs block unlawful content, its a prohibition on blocking lawful content. A strong enough prohibition on blocking lawful c…

The laws will change a couple times before you see the problem for what it really is.

Re: President Obama Calls for a Free and Open Internet

#70

Post by carsonreinke »

higherpurpose wrote: post #4

Since I have zero trust in Obama these days, I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop - or to see what's Obama's angle in this. Is he doing it because he already knows a Republican-backed Congress and FCC have already made up their minds against net neutrality - and he just wants to be remembered that "he tried"? Or is he supporting full net neutrality because that would give the government much more control over the I…

Sometimes things are about legacy and not necessarily just political agenda. Has he not already reached the pinnacle of a political career?
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