“People may scream at me for saying this, but net neutrality is one of America’s longest and now most pointless fights over technology.” So argues the New York Times “On Tech” newsletter author Shira Ovide, calling the debate “a distraction for our elected leaders and corporations when there are more pressing issues.” Ovide also shares their discussion with Times technology and…
Tag: Net Neutrality
Biden DOJ Halts Trump Admin Lawsuit Against California Net Neutrality Rules
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: The Biden administration has abandoned a Trump-era lawsuit that sought to block California’s net neutrality law. In a court filing today, the US Department of Justice said it “hereby gives notice of its voluntary dismissal of this case.” Shortly after, the court announced that the case is “dismissed in its entirety” and…
Biden Names Jessica Rosenworcel Acting FCC Chair
President Joe Biden has named Jessica Rosenworcel, the FCC’s leading Democrat, as acting FCC chairwoman. She is replacing Ajit Pai, who concluded his four years as chairman yesterday. Engadget reports: Rosenworcel is known as defender of net neutrality policies, and as an advocate for closing the “homework gap,” a reference to students who lack high-speed internet at home. As acting chair,…
Ajit Pai is Officially Out of the FCC
Ajit Pai, the man who killed net neutrality, enacted a series of industry-friendly deregulatory moves for big telecom, and drank from a gigantic mug, is no longer around to terrorize the internet. The FCC confirmed to Motherboard that Pai is officially gone: “Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai today concluded his four years as Chairman, eight years as a Commissioner, and…
Citing ‘Censorship’ Concerns, North Idaho ISP Blocks Facebook and Twitter
jasonbuechler writes: A North Idaho internet provider, Your T1 WIFI, emailed customers to say customers would need to opt-in to access Facebook and Twitter from its service. They wisely seem to have changed their mind on that after it started garnering attention on social media. The ISP says it decided to restrict service this way after receiving numerous calls from customers…
Among 2020’s Most Underreported Stories: Pharmaceutical Profiteering May Accelerate Superbugs
Since 1976 “Project Censored,” a U.S.-based nonprofit media watchdog organization, has been identifying “the news that didn’t make the news,” the most significant stories it believes are being systematically overlooked. Slashdot ran stories about its annual list of the year’s most censored news stories in 1999, 2003, 2004, and in 2007, when they’d presciently warned that the media was ignoring the…
US Broadband Speeds Jumped 90% In 2020. But No, It Had Nothing To Do With Net Neutrality.
An anonymous reader shares a report from Techdirt: Last last week, a report out of the UK topped the trending news items at Hacker News. The report found that U.S. broadband speeds — historically the poster child for mediocrity — jumped roughly 90% during the COVID-19 lockdowns. The improvements weren’t consistent geographically, and the report was quick to note that by…
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai Will Step Down on January 20
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has announced plans to depart the commission when President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated on January 20th. Pai has served on the FCC since 2012. From a report: “It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve at the Federal Communications Commission, including as Chairman of the FCC over the past four years,” Pai said in a…
The US Could Soon Ban the Selling of Carrier-Locked Phones
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Wired: In the U.S., a complicated combination of corporate interests and pre-smartphone era legislation has resulted in more than two decades of back and forth about the legality of phone locking. It’s looking like that battle could ramp up again next year. The transition to a Biden administration could shake up the regulatory body…
‘Extremely Aggressive’ Internet Censorship Spreads In the World’s Democracies
Researchers from the University of Michigan used their own automated censorship tracking system to collect more than 21 billion measurements over 20 months in 221 countries. They discovered that citizens in what are considered the world’s freest countries aren’t safe from internet censorship. From a press release: [Roya Ensafi, U-M assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science who led the…