Democrats sneak Net neutrality rules into 'stimulus' bill

[zelta gaisma]

Source: CNET News

Democrats sneak Net neutrality rules into 'stimulus' bill
Posted by Declan McCullagh

The House Democrats' $825 billion legislation released on Thursday was supposedly intended to "stimulate" the economy. Backers claimed that speedy approval was vital because the nation is in "a crisis not seen since the Great Depression" and "the economy is shutting down."

That's the rhetoric. But in reality, Democrats are using the 258-page legislation to sneak Net neutrality rules in through the back door.








Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10144035-38.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

---

Don't you love this wording? Democrats "sneak" Net neutrality rules into 'stimulus' bill

[bemildred]

1. Good. nt

[DissedByBush]

12. I hate these maneuvers

There should be rules that state no unrelated items can go into bills. Any major policy should have to stand on its own.

But I do take some pleasure in knowing this tactic is being used for some good.

[jsamuel]

30. It isn't unrelated. The stimulus includes money to expand internet services in rural areas.

This is so that they can expand jobs in those areas. It is part of the stimulus package. The net neutrality part of it is only a check on the company that partakes of the money, which is unlike the free money the banks got a few months ago. This time, we should put requirements and checks on those who take the money.

[DissedByBush]

38. Got it. Thanks. n/t

[Born Free]

2. We need Net Neutrality laws

Of course , anyone that uses Netflix "Watch Instantly" via Comcast cable needs the Net Neutrality to assure they will not be throttled back - and there has been many complaints on the Netflix forms of just such behavior. It's easy to understand why Comcast doesn't want their cable modem users watching Netflix movies, for $8.99 a month you get a much more diverse selection than Comcast offers via "On Demand" and as people learn this they may start using alternatives to Comcast. Blockbuster is another, we have access to Amazon and a couple others on our HD Tivo - but Netflix is the one we use. However, if Comcast can throttle back the service, make it undesirable, people will not use it. Some of the new Vizio HD TV models will be capable of receiving them all, no need to pay Comcast high prices, unless of course, the services just don't work well because Comcast throttles back the user's bandwidth.

[trumad]

3. I think Amazon just cut a deal with Netflix--- for watch instantly shows... sweet.

[toopers]

32. Who owns the cable that goes to the house?

[MasonJar]

4. Well, then the dems did learn something from the GOPers. Good for them.

[Hulk]

5. Phew...I was hoping that was a "good thing"...

I wasn't sure exactly what "net neutrality" was...but if it protects the consumer...more power to you.

Am living in Mexico, and cable internet service down here is about $20 a month. We were living in the States where they were ripping us off for about $50 a month. Highway robbery!

[totodeinhere]

6. This is great news. The telcos can shove it. n/t

[EconomicLiberal]

7. Sneak?

Who wrote this article? Rush Limbaugh?

[PSPS]

23. That got me too. They would have never used that term when the GOP did such things.

[snot]

8. Halle-f***ing-lujah! But if we & CNN know, "sneak" can't be quite the right word.

[kirby]

9. Excellent!

Our Internet infrastructure needs to be treated as 'neutral' aka 'common carrier status'. ISP's should not be able to provided preferred speeds or slow down connections based on their own negotiating / fees with websites.

Can you imagine the havoc if say Comcast provides much faster access to Fox and Free Republic, but slower speeds to MSNBC and DU?

[AwakeAtLast]

10. Kinda like the Repukes "snuck" in deregulation?

:shrug:

[Lasher]

24. Not exactly.

Few knew of the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 until after it had become law. Phil Gramm slipped it into a must-pass omnibus spending bill in December 2000.

[alittlelark]

11. I Love it! Anyone against this has $$$ to gain

w/ ?????^&*%*&%#$#@%^ ???? groups.

[UpInArms]

13. Dick Armey sneaked immunity for Eli Lilly into the Patriot Act and they never said a word

hmmm....

Dick Armey put a provision in the Patriot Act—hours before the vote--that made it impossible to sue the companies that used thimerisol. Bill Frist had previously tried to get this bill passed in the Senate and failed. Senator Frist implied that this was because thimerisol was contained in Anthrax and Small Pox vaccines and our ability to fight terrorism would be undermined if lawsuits were to proceed against the companies that made them. Thimerisol was not in any of the “terrorism” vaccines.

[Juche]

14. I hope to see more of this behavior

I hope they tack EFCA and healthcare reform onto the 2010 budget bill (you can't filibuster a budget). If this is what it takes to get things done, fine by me.

[readmoreoften]

15. Shame they gotta "sneak in" something that every American should be screaming in support of.

But I'm glad they did it. Thanks Dems. That's a +1 for y'all today.

[FredStembottom]

16. Does Net Neutrality include rolling back.......

.....the threats against Internet Radio?
I love Internet Radio more than any other feature the 'net has brought me. I wired speakers throughout the house and backyard just to have it everywhere.
For the first time in my life radio finally seems to be serving me.

[riverdale]

20. what do you listen to?

[FredStembottom]

29. I'm a big fan of Live365.com

Thousands of stations! Their interface is a little clunky but worth it.*
Some of my fave stations:

Freeform Underground (old hippie music - stunningly creative),

The Jazz Set (best of the late 50's, early 60's jazz),

Motown365,

Mr. Aircheck Radio (full broadcasts of pop radio from the 50's t0 80's),

Moderna FM (contemporary classical),

Rivmic Melodies (Canterbury Scene Prog Rock and more),

Earlybird Show (Western swing, rockabilly), Secret Surfin' Spot (Surf Revival, Lounge etc),

Kingdom of Swing (Big band Swing)

Soundtrack Lounge (movie scores)

and..... The Vinyl Dungeon - a hilarious, astounding, troubling broadcast of all the records everyone threw away. Kind of MST3K for the ears.

Much more!

*for a small monthly fee you get ad-free radio through a really slick desktop player. No need to go to website after that.

[Infinite Hope]

17. They could end up damaging the stimulus package. I don't like those tactics. n/t

[mindwalker_i]

18. Net neutrality should be part of the stimulus

For the last 8 years, Bush and his merry band of Charmin have damaged this country in many ways, but a bit part has been their stifling of technology in favor of corporate profits. Getting net neutrality passed is a big step in fixing that to stimulate the economy. Other countries are far ahead of us on this.

'Net access has become a basic utility that we can not afford to live without. Letting Comcast and AT&T limit access is like forbidding people to go to the library.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

19. Declan McCullagh is the guy that pushed the "Al Gore said he invented the internet" story

So I'm not surprised he worded the article like this. He's a big time libertarian and he opposes net neutrality in that he feels regulation hinders invention (you know the typical RW line against regulation)

[babylonsister]

21. Nice catch! nt

[1776Forever]

22. Hearing on Net Neutrality and Free Speech on the Internet May 2008 link.....

Blandin on Broadband

http://blandinonbroadband.org/2008/03/13/hearing-on-net-neutrality-and-free-speech-on-the-internet/

Judiciary Committee Antitrust Task Force Hearing on Net Neutrality and Free Speech on the Internet.

Chairman Conyer’s Opening Response

The Internet has become the place for ideas and public discourse. It has revolutionized journalism and how we get and disseminate information. We need to proceed cautiously. Unless we see a problem – we should not legislate. Even if we do see a problem, we should tread lightly. Everyone has an equal voice today.

However ISP markets today are covered monopolies or duopolies. And those ISPs are considering acting as a gatekeeper. That will squash innovation we’ve enjoyed for things like Google. Congress cannot stand by and do nothing and allow this pay to play method take over.

If Congress acts it’s a sign that the ISPs have over stepped. We should use the anti-trust laws to take care of the situation at this point.

(snip)

Caroline Fredrickson
Director
ACLU Washington Legislative Office

The marketplace of ideas (Internet) needs to remain free. The neutral pipes lead to open discourse. Consumers make decisions not gatekeepers. We had Title II, which gave the common carrier status and the Internet blossomed. ISPs are like common carriers but Brand X changed this and they shouldn’t have. Without Net Neutrality the carriers do become gatekeepers (as Ms Combs examples have shown). We need t be able to choose information and applications.

............

More at link - this gives you some idea on what is in the minds of those in power.

[karynnj]

31. Here's a link to the Senate Commerce Committee's Future of the Internet hearing in April -

http://commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Hearing&Hearing_ID=4c66f979-3001-490a-a985-5be63951adb7

This was an excellent hearing and many of the Senators fighting for Net neutrality are supposedly close Obama allies - that would suggest the Senate will be in concurrence.

Here is a nice summary - it was not a fun hearing for Kevin Martin.

"In his opening remarks at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on network neutrality this morning, Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) got his first turn at the microphone and immediately stepped away from his prepared remarks. "You're not looking very cheerful right now, and you usually do," he told FCC Chairman Kevin Martin. Martin had reason to look dour. Seated alone at the witness table, he was only minutes away from a dogpiling by Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and John Kerry (D-MA) over both network neutrality and the relative slow growth of US broadband. He was lucky enough to be excused before the Christian Coalition suggested that all bandwidth problems could be fixed by simply offering fewer porn video-on-demand channels and using them for Internet traffic instead.

The Democratic senators on the committee did most of the talking at the hearing, and the ones who spoke were surprisingly informed about the topic. Even law professor Lawrence Lessig, who appeared at a second panel after Martin, opened his remarks by saying how rewarding it was to see how well people understand the network neutrality issue after several years of debate.

<snip>

Dorgan, Kerry, and Rockefeller all used their question time to take issue with the idea that network neutrality represented new, burdensome government regulation of the Internet. Rockefeller pointed out that the Internet is currently regulated to address issues like spam, VoIP 911 services, and Internet access for schools through the Universal Service Fund; simply arguing that something is "regulation" has little to do with whether the idea itself is a good one or a bad one.

Kerry took a stronger line, saying that everyone who questions the government's basic investment in science and research has their answer "every time they check their e-mail." Recognizing the unintentional problems that regulation can create, Kerry called for "principles, not nitpicky regulatory structure."

Dorgan, one of the co-sponsors of a network neutrality bill still pending in the Senate, likewise was incredulous that anyone could consider this some kind of intrusive government interference. "Who on earth is standing up for discrimination?" he thundered. "


http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080422-senators-push-fcc-on-comcast-net-neutrality-at-hearing.html

[1776Forever]

35. Thanks - it sounds like there are some who are on the right track.

Let's hope so. I also hope if and when they do something about this it is in the open!

[karynnj]

36. I hope it will be in the open - the day before the Senate hearing Kerry wrote a Daily Kos diary

and talked about the issues there. That is about as open as it gets - to have a sitting senator write a diary and respond to some of the comments.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/4/21/13026/2437

[checks-n-balances]

25. While they're at it, what else could go in under the radar? nt

[pleah]

26. K&R Good.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

27. Damn you, Nancy Pelosi!

Oh, wait. This is actually good. Nevermind, then.

[ShadesOfGrey]

28. k&r

[okiru109]

33. one that is free of restrictions on content, sites, or platforms, on the kinds of equipment that may

Network neutrality (equivalently net neutrality, Internet neutrality) is a principle proposed for residential broadband networks and potentially for all networks. A neutral broadband network is one that is free of restrictions on content, sites, or platforms, on the kinds of equipment that may be attached, and on the modes of communication allowed, as well as one where communication is not unreasonably degraded by other communication streams.<1><2><3>

Read More...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_neutrality

I'm sure the control freaks are PISSED :evilgrin:

[damntexdem]

34. Good -- that stimulates me.

[pipoman]

37. I am surprised

that not a single post in this thread shows concern for this opening the door for web censorship. The spirit of the proposal is good, but as seen far too often .gov is cyclical and we better be prepared for a day, which is assured to arrive, when the pugs control everything once again. I live in rural Kansas, there are options for high speed internet access. Of coarse if there are strong safeguards to keep FCC like censorship regulations from seeping into internet access..ever..this would sound much better to me.