Registered Weapon

Weaponeers-

The RW brain trust does our best to steer away from controversial topics like politics, religion, sex and Taco Bell’s Pacific Shrimp Taco. Other than this incident, we’ve done a good job (well…aside from April Fool’s 2010 too). But, earlier this week, a federal appeals court ruled that the FCC has no right to regulate Internet service providers use of bandwidth. This is a blow to the fight for Net Neutrality. The decision opens the door for Comcast and others to legally control the amount of bandwidth allotted for particular sites and services for users on their networks. In the simplest terms, Yahoo could pay Comcast a fee for more bandwidth on their network over other search engines. Someone could still use Google or Bing but those sites would have a lower tiered priority and would load slower than Yahoo on the Comcast network. Or, as this graphic below shows, ISPs could start nickel-and-diming users for increased bandwidth to popular sites.

Your future online packages?

The implications of this decision are huge and could break the Internet in half (or into a few large slices of unregulated, online corporate pie).  Internet providers already hold a significant monopoly over where and how you connect, we can’t give up our online freedom to them as well.

The crux of the court’s decision is that the FCC lacks regulatory power over the Internet. And they’re probably correct depending on how you interpret different federal communication acts. The decision does not mean the FCC should not have the regulatory power though. Please take a few minutes to read this email from a lawyer fighting for Net Neutrality. Now is the time that we need to speak up. Regardless of where you fall politically, Net Neutrality is good for everyone. Let’s keep it that way.

Dear Chris,

The future of the Internet is in grave danger.

A federal appeals court ruled today that the FCC doesn’t have the authority to protect Internet users. The decision means the agency can’t stop Comcast from blocking Web traffic. It can’t carry out the National Broadband Plan. It won’t be able to safeguard Net Neutrality.

Let’s Win Back Control of the Internet:
The FCC Must Act on Our Behalf.

I’m a policy lawyer at Free Press. They don’t usually let me send you e-mails, but today is different. Let me explain how we got into this mess:

Two years ago, the FCC ruled that Comcast could not block online content, and Comcast challenged the ruling in court. Today, the court ruled in Comcast’s favor, effectively placing the Internet in the hands of big phone and cable companies.

This decision exploits a loophole in current law — the result of overzealous deregulation by the Bush administration — that threatens Net Neutrality and leaves the FCC unable to achieve the crucial goals of the National Broadband Plan.

Thankfully, this FCC can correct its predecessors’ mistakes, reassert its authority, and close the loophole. (Get ready, this is a tad complicated.)

The FCC needs to “reclassify” broadband under the Communications Act. In 2002, the FCC decided to place broadband providers outside the legal framework that traditionally applied to companies that offer two-way communications services, like phone companies.

That decision is what first put Net Neutrality in jeopardy, setting in motion the legal wrangling that now endangers the FCC’s ability to protect our Internet rights.

But the good news is that the FCC still has the power to set things right, and to make sure the free and open Internet stays that way. And once we’ve done that, the FCC can ensure that Comcast can’t interfere with our communications, no matter the platform.

That won’t happen unless thousands, even millions, of us take action now.

To be clear: This court decision hurts. But it’s created the opportunity for us to fix what was broken so many years ago.

It’s our Internet, not theirs. Let’s take it back.

Thanks,

Chris Riley
Policy Counsel
www.SaveTheInternet.com
www.FreePress.net

P.S. We need thousands of new supporters to contact the FCC. Forward this e-mail to your friends and family, and share our action on Twitter and Facebook.

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