The vote on Net Neutrality is today
Posted by: Jon Ben-Mayor on 02/26/2015 06:21 AM
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The FCC will vote at 10:30 A.M. today on whether or not the internet will stay neutral. The main thing the Federal Communications Commission is voting is whether it will reclassify broadband access as a "telecommunications service under Title II." What this means to you and I is they are attempting to reclassify broadband as a utility - this would provide the federal government more regulatory power over ISPs.
Watch the proceedings here: http://www.fcc.gov/live
The proposed rules are pretty lengthy, but from an FCC fact sheet, here are the three things that the rules would ban that matter most to consumers:
"No Blocking: broadband providers may not block access to legal content, applications, services, or non-harmful devices.
"No Throttling: broadband providers may not impair or degrade lawful Internet traffic on the basis of content, applications, services, or non-harmful devices.
"No Paid Prioritization: broadband providers may not favor some lawful Internet traffic over other lawful traffic in exchange for consideration – in other words, no "fast lanes." This rule also bans ISPs from prioritizing content and services of their affiliates.
Abolishing net neutrality would mean some websites hosting their own material could slow to a crawl, or Netflix could experience stuttering video playback – unless those internet companies dug into their pockets for fast-lane access. Unlikely.
Sources: NPR and CBCNEWS
Watch the proceedings here: http://www.fcc.gov/live
The proposed rules are pretty lengthy, but from an FCC fact sheet, here are the three things that the rules would ban that matter most to consumers:
"No Blocking: broadband providers may not block access to legal content, applications, services, or non-harmful devices.
"No Throttling: broadband providers may not impair or degrade lawful Internet traffic on the basis of content, applications, services, or non-harmful devices.
"No Paid Prioritization: broadband providers may not favor some lawful Internet traffic over other lawful traffic in exchange for consideration – in other words, no "fast lanes." This rule also bans ISPs from prioritizing content and services of their affiliates.
Abolishing net neutrality would mean some websites hosting their own material could slow to a crawl, or Netflix could experience stuttering video playback – unless those internet companies dug into their pockets for fast-lane access. Unlikely.
Sources: NPR and CBCNEWS
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