What could possibly go wrong?
Fears about big companies are legitimate. I just fear what the FCC might do a lot more.
It all seems fine now, but the benevolent regulators in charge now might be replaced by less-benevolent ones later.
F.C.C. Is Expected to Propose Regulating the Internet as a Utility
191–200 of 452 posts
Re: F.C.C. Is Expected to Propose Regulating the Internet as a Utility
#192One part of me hates this because the idea of our government dipping their hands into what has become the major source of information, entertainment, conducting business, etc. is quite scary. We all know their tendency to fuck things up because of politics, money, stupidity, or a combination of any and all of these. On the other hand, I look at my other utilities and realize I have absolutely no complaints. Yeah, the…
> One part of me hates this because the idea of our government dipping their hands into what has become the major source of information, entertainment, conducting business, etc. is quite scary. We all know their tendency to fuck things up because of politics, money, stupidity, or a combination of any and all of these.
1. Who built the Internet, landlines and lobbied for electricity in the countryside in the 30's ?
2. Right, because politics, money and stupidity are nowhere to be found in the `private` world.
Re: F.C.C. Is Expected to Propose Regulating the Internet as a Utility
#193The major critique quoted here comes from David Farber of Carnegie-Mellon, who worries that classifying Internet access under Title II will allow it to be taxed. If that's the worst thing you can think of, we're in good shape.
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Re: F.C.C. Is Expected to Propose Regulating the Internet as a Utility
#194[deleted]
Re: F.C.C. Is Expected to Propose Regulating the Internet as a Utility
#195Earlier quoted context omitted.
Bytes are bytes.
It delivers more than just bytes. It's communication in different forms for different purposes. On the other hand, when water is delivered it's the same water here or there.
And what form does that communication take?
Bytes.
As for the water, once delivered it is used for drinking, for washing, for cooling, for watering...but it travels, unmolested, as water being commonly carried.
Re: F.C.C. Is Expected to Propose Regulating the Internet as a Utility
#196Law does not operate in a vacuum because, in the end, it is closely tied to power - to fine, to jail, to sanction, to regulate and restrict - and that makes it scary when it becomes unhinged from a sense of principle in its application. Is it wise, then, to grant unchecked, plenary power over the internet to the government in the name of trusting that those who currently exercise the F.C.C.'s power will exercise that…
Except for the part where ISPs were regulated under Title II up until the late 90s.
>The free internet we know today will be utterly dependent on their good graces.
That may be the single most uneducated statement about Title II I've seen to date. What SPECIFICALLY in Title II allows the FCC to restrict what content the ISPs provide to the public? Hint: there isn't any language whatsoever giving them that ability.
Re: F.C.C. Is Expected to Propose Regulating the Internet as a Utility
#197Earlier quoted context omitted.
In my area, the cable provider is the only one that offers somewhat fast speeds. Whenever they overcharge me and I spend hours sorting it out (this has happened a few times) with them I wish I could switch, but DSL is just not fast enough for working remotely. I don't have other options for all my other utilities, but so far they have overcharged me and screwed things up royally exactly zero times.
The FCC just raised its minimum definition of broadband, so that DSL probably doesn't even qualify anymore. As if it should have before. http://arstechnica.com/business/2015/01/fcc-chairman-mocks-i...
The cable company's Internet service may not either.
Re: F.C.C. Is Expected to Propose Regulating the Internet as a Utility
#198Law does not operate in a vacuum because, in the end, it is closely tied to power - to fine, to jail, to sanction, to regulate and restrict - and that makes it scary when it becomes unhinged from a sense of principle in its application. Is it wise, then, to grant unchecked, plenary power over the internet to the government in the name of trusting that those who currently exercise the F.C.C.'s power will exercise that…
Notably, in those countries where there are national blacklists of unapproved sites (including those with legal systems like the US, such as the UK and Australia), it is typically the local equivalent of the FCC that maintains and enforces the blacklist.
Re: F.C.C. Is Expected to Propose Regulating the Internet as a Utility
#199To me, net neutrality is pretty much a red herring. I have had good and bad internet service in my life. The least reliable was at my somewhat rural childhood home from TWC. The best is my current connection from that most reviled of companies, Comcast. I have had no service interruptions, and I get a reliable 50Mbps at all times of day (I check regularly with speed tests and checking Torrent activity). The reason my…
Unfortunately some things fall into the naturally monopoly category ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_monopoly ). Figuring out what those are is an ongoing process. Government regulated industries get a bad rap these days - mostly because deregulation has been an ongoing fad for the last 30 years or so - but a lot of these have great track records. The California electricity crisis provides an instructive exampl…
> Mostly because deregulation has been an ongoing fad for the last 30 years or so
Not all deregulation produced good results. On the contrary, a lot of it produced bad results, because it was often intended for selected interests and not for everyone.
Here is a good overview: http://economixcomix.com/home/tpp/
Re: F.C.C. Is Expected to Propose Regulating the Internet as a Utility
#200I get what they're trying to accomplish, we all want faster more reliable service, but as comparison is anyone 100% happy with their utility (power, water, etc)? That's where this is headed.
My tap water is clean and delicious and I have never, ever had a problem with it. I have never experienced an unscheduled service interruption with my water, and scheduled service interruptions are very rare and advertised well in advance. My electricity is stable and reliable, and any power outages I've experienced have been brief, and exclusively due to exceptional weather events. I'm also a Comcast customer, and I…
> My tap water is clean
Define "clean". It may be sanitary but most tap water in the US tastes (and smells) like swimming pool and has tons of other trace amounts of harmful substances in it like benzene, pesticides, styrene, trichloroethylene, pharmaceuticals, etc:
http://water.epa.gov/drink/contaminants/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drinking_water_quality_in_the_...
If you want "clean" water you need water from an aquifer (like Fiji) or water that goes through a reverse osmosis treatment process. Even then it's not going to be perfectly clean, but it'll be a hell of a lot better than the vast majority of tap water out there.