With More Net Neutrality Stunts, Broadband Has Become A Political Football

May 25, 2018

Do the very vocal supporters of Net Neutrality actually want Net Neutrality?  Apparently not. Rather than negotiate a straightforward legislative solution and get it enacted as a matter of federal law, self-styled consumer advocates are instead staging a series of publicity stunts hoping to turn a largely technical issue into a campaign issue in upcoming elections. These include a doomed resolution under the Congressional Review Act that purports to roll back a recent FCC order that undoes a 2015 FCC order transforming ISPs into public utilities. At the state and local level, lawmakers are also being whipped into passing unenforceable resolutions, laws and local ordinances, all of which, their promoters know full well, are pre-empted by federal law. The worst ones, including legislation from State Sen. Scott Wiener of California, claim to merely reinstate the 2015 order for local residents, but in fact go much farther. While Congress Dithers… In Washington, Republicans continue to circulate legislation that would permanently prohibit blocking, throttling, or anti-competitive discrimination of Internet traffic by ISPs.

Read more at Forbes

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