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Radio News: Net neutrality is going soon
Nov 19, 2017 10:50 pm
Slate, and many other news outlets, report that the Republicans who lead the Federal Communications Commission will release a new set of rules to end net neutrality just before Thanksgiving, and then vote on those rules Dec. 14, ending the law that makes the internet a level playing field. Announcing the rules on the day before a major holiday is what the new FCC does. Earlier in the year, when the FCC received 22 million comments about ending net neutrality, computer bots, or dead people, wrote most of the comments in favor, and living human beings wrote most of the comments against. When comedian John Oliver devoted most of his "Last Week Tonight" show on HBO to the issue, the FCC's website suspiciously froze, due to an alleged computer hacking attack. Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, a Democrat, says, “I’ve got concerns.... There were some procedural problems with the way this all came together.” The Slate story says, "the Government Accountability Office is now investigating that DDoS attack because the FCC’s description of what happened raised some red flags, including questions as to whether or not the attack actually happened, since, according to a letter from two congress members who called for the investigation, the FCC hasn’t 'released any records or documentation that would allow for confirmation that an attack occurred.'" If current net neutrality rules are discarded, and new rules put in place expect internet companies to raise rates for those who can afford so-called fast-lane speeds, and everyone else will pay the same or more for slower internet speeds.