This is a good thing. Brainwashed net neutrality supporters have been gnashing their teeth for months now, proclaiming future doom, despite the Internet having grown from the tiny thing with slow speeds and little content to the massive, fast, find anything you want behemoth it is now without these big government controlling type rules. There was no need to turn the Internet into the same type of regulated entity like old school phones, rules used against Ma Bell in the 1930’s.
(Yahoo Finance) Net neutrality’s protracted, multi-phase death scene is finally coming to an end with a whimper as the FCC rules proposed in May, voted on in December and entered in the Federal Register in February finally come into effect today. But as before, don’t expect some big fanfare by broadband providers and a sudden ratcheting up of prices. Things are going to stay quietly tense for a while.
Update: Although new rules do indeed take effect two months after entering the Federal Register (i.e. today), those taking effect are only part of the full package. The Office of Management and Budget still has to sign off on the new rules, after which time there will be yet another delay as they are filed in the Register again before taking effect. So although the new rules have taken partial effect, they are are still awaiting final final approval.
Should you be worried? No. But you should stay angry.
Stay angry? Really? People should be angry that rules that stifle innovation and investment and opened the doors to massive government control of the ‘net, along with all sorts of taxes and fees (look at your phone bill and ask what all these taxes and fees are, and how far back they go), have been done away with? Only in Progressive World.
But, I have to wonder: so many of these tech companies lean Liberal/Progressive. Why are Leftists so concerned that companies on their side might possibly maybe we’re not sure so let’s regulate them just in case implement all sorts of crazy fees and “fast lanes” and stuff?
Really, any Bad Conduct by companies should be dealt with by the Federal Trade Commission. That’s where this belongs.
That’s why consumers must be vigilant. Do you see something new and weird in your new terms of service? Do you notice a suspicious bandwidth issue on certain sites or services? Tell us, or tell one of the advocacy organizations that has been fighting on your behalf all these years. We only had net neutrality for a short, sweet time and there’s no reason we should let it slip away without a fight.
It barely took effect, there was a problem with a reduction in investment because of it, but, for the rest of the time there was no Net Neutrality, and things were fine. Certain people are essentially freaking out over things that didn’t happen and won’t happen, all because they’ve been brainwashed into think that Government control is the bee’s knees.
BTW, here’s the fun graphic from a Mashable article on same
Food for thought on who these people really are.
