All,
Well here's some really Good News for a change. Let's sincerely hope the President will continue on this path and without fear or equivocation finally stand up to and FIGHT the vicious Republican right over the next two years....WHY?...Because WE NEED IT...This also means that more than ever WE have to do our collective job as progressives and radicals and get organized on a national level to openly PUSH for change. This means that WE have to make real concrete DEMANDS of Congress, the media, the White House AND ourselves if we want anything to go in the right direction--like the four million people who demanded that the FCC and Obama stand up and defend the crucial necessity of net neutrality. There’s simply no more time for any of us to waste (like we all have for far too much of the last 6 years). It's NOW or NEVER..for real. Stay tuned...
Kofi
http://truth-out.org/news/item/27391-with-thumbs-up-from-obama-net-neutrality-advocates-see-victory-in-sight
With Thumbs-Up From Obama, Net Neutrality Advocates See Victory in Sight
Tuesday, 11 November 2014
By Mike Ludwig, Truthout | Report
After staying mum on specific policies for months, President Obama waded into the debate over net neutrality on Monday and announced that he supports regulating the internet as a public utility that is as essential to the public as phone service and electricity.
Obama released the statement and a detailed video explaining his position one month before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is expected to vote on a new set of rules for enforcing net neutrality, the concept that internet service providers should treat all legal web traffic equally.
Just hours before Obama made his announcement, Popular Resistance activists blockaded FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler's driveway to demand that the agency issue tough regulations to protect the internet from profit-hungry telecom companies. Activists held pro-net neutrality demonstrations across the country in the past week, including one right in front of the White House.
Obama's statement brought cheers from progressives and internet freedom advocates, who have organized a massive movement, both online and off, to pressure the FCC to reclassify the internet as a Title II "common carrier" service, which they say is the only way to establish net neutrality rules with teeth.
Obama made it clear that he agrees.
"So the time has come for the FCC to recognize that broadband service is of the same importance and must carry the same obligations as so many of the other vital services do," the president said in a statement. "To do that, I believe the FCC should reclassify consumer broadband service under Title II of the Telecommunications Act - while at the same time forbearing from rate regulation and other provisions less relevant to broadband services."
Obama is a longstanding supporter of net neutrality, but has refrained from directing the FCC toward specific policies until now.
Since a federal court struck down the FCC's latest batch of net neutrality rules in January, the agency has considered several proposals for reestablishing regulations to keep broadband companies from blocking or slowing some websites and services while giving preferential treatment to others. FCC Chairmen Tom Wheeler, who was appointed by Obama last year, originally proposed classifying the internet under a different federal statute instead of Title II.
Wheeler also proposed allowing so-called paid prioritization, or "fast lane" deals, that would allow broadband companies to charge companies like Netflix fees for faster speeds to reach consumers, as long as the FCC deemed the deals commercially reasonable.
Protests against Wheeler's original proposal erupted outside and even inside FCC meetings while online organizers gathered thousands of signatures and millions of public comments. Under mounting public pressure, Wheeler later revised the proposal and made it clear that he would consider full Title II reclassification if necessary.
"The president's statement of support for Title II is the result of an unprecedented public outcry," said Craig Aaron, CEO of the pro-net neutrality group Free Press. "More than 4 million Americans have contacted the FCC on the issue, with the overwhelming majority of comments urging the agency to create real net neutrality protections. And the phones have been ringing off the hook at the White House for weeks."
The broadband industry is rigidly opposed to Title II reclassification and has threatened to take the FCC back to court if it approves tough regulations.
"Reclassification under Title II, which for the first time would apply 1930s-era utility regulation to the Internet, would be a radical reversal of course that would in and of itself threaten great harm to an open Internet, competition and innovation," Verizon said in a statement. "That course will likely also face strong legal challenges and would likely not stand up in court."
A legal challenge from Verizon doomed the FCC's last batch of net neutrality rules, which were thrown out by a federal court last year.
Recent media reports based on leaked information indicated that Wheeler is now considering a hybrid proposal that would classify only part of the internet under Title II so the FCC would have the power to block "fast lane" deals that the agency deems anticompetitive while preserving the internet as a retail information service, not a public utility, for everyday customers.
The proposal was generally seen as a compromise to appease both sides of the net neutrality debate, but Obama has refused to throw his support behind the proposal, saying instead that the entire internet should be placed under Title II and paid prioritization should be banned outright.
"FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and the other commissioners now must abandon convoluted proposals and make clear rules that will protect internet users and stand up in court," Aaron said. "As the president made very clear, the only sure way to do that is under Title II."
Obama also called on the FCC to extend net neutrality protections to mobile devices like smartphones.
In a statement, Wheeler said he welcomed the president's input and would add it to the public record.
"We both oppose internet fast lanes," Wheeler said.
He also confirmed that the FCC had been exploring hybrid proposals that would involve only partial Title II reclassification, a move that critics argue would not put the FCC on the kind of firm legal footing needed to stand up to legal challenges from the industry.
Wheeler stated that the FCC "would need more time" to examine how different approaches to regulating the internet would hold up in court, which suggests the FCC may delay its vote until after a scheduled meeting on December 11.
"Those are stalling tactics," said the internet freedom group Fight for the Future in an email to supporters. "The FCC has had plenty of time to discuss the various options available to them. We need to refocus our campaign on the FCC to make sure that Wheeler - a former cable lobbyist - doesn't delay the vote in a last ditch attempt to sneak through rules that his buddies at Comcast and Verizon can live with. Time is of the essence."
While Obama has taken a strong stance on Title II reclassification, he made it clear in his statement that the FCC is an independent agency and the final decision will be left up to Wheeler and his fellow commissioners.
Copyright, Truthout. May not be reprinted without permission.
Mike Ludwig
Mike Ludwig is a Truthout reporter. Follow Mike on Twitter @ludwig_mike.
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(Photo: Free Press)
Obama Calls for Net Neutrality, but His Own Industry-Tied FCC Appointee Could Stand in the Way
Thursday, 13 November 2014
By Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez, Democracy Now! | Video Report
In a strong statement in favor of a free and open Internet,
President Obama has called on the Federal Communications Commission to
uphold the principle of net neutrality by classifying the Internet as a
public utility. Obama said such protections would prevent Internet
service providers like Comcast from blocking access to websites, slowing
down content or providing paid fast lanes for Internet service. Obama’s
proposal comes as his appointed FCC chair,
Tom Wheeler, a former lobbyist for the cellphone and cable industries,
is considering breaking with the president on net neutrality. According
to The Washington Post, Wheeler met with officials from Google, Yahoo
and Etsy on Monday and told them he preferred a more nuanced solution.
Wheeler reportedly said: "What you want is what everyone wants: an open
Internet that doesn’t affect your business. What I’ve got to figure out
is how to split the baby." On Monday, protesters called on Wheeler to
favor net neutrality as they blockaded his driveway when he attempted to
go to work. Protests also took place in a dozen cities last week after
The Wall Street Journal reported the FCC is
considering a "hybrid" approach to net neutrality. This would apply
expanded protections only to the relationship between Internet providers
and content firms, like Netflix, and not to the relationship between
providers and users. We discuss the ongoing debate over the Internet’s
future with Steven Renderos of the Center for Media Justice.
TRANSCRIPT:
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: As President Obama attends trade talks in China, he used a video message on Monday to issue a strong statement in favor of a free and open Internet. He called for the Federal Communications Commission to uphold the principle of net neutrality by classifying the Internet as a public utility. Obama said such protections would prevent Internet service providers like Comcast from blocking access to websites, slowing down content or providing paid fast lanes for Internet service.
TRANSCRIPT:
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: As President Obama attends trade talks in China, he used a video message on Monday to issue a strong statement in favor of a free and open Internet. He called for the Federal Communications Commission to uphold the principle of net neutrality by classifying the Internet as a public utility. Obama said such protections would prevent Internet service providers like Comcast from blocking access to websites, slowing down content or providing paid fast lanes for Internet service.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Cable companies can’t decide which online stores you can shop at or which streaming services you can use. And they can’t let any company pay for priority over its competitors. To put these protections in place, I’m asking the FCC to reclassify Internet service under Title II of a law known as the Telecommunications Act. In plain English, I’m asking them to recognize that for most Americans the Internet has become an essential part of everyday communication and everyday life. The FCC is an independent agency, and ultimately the decision is theirs alone, but the public has already commented nearly four million times.JUAN GONZÁLEZ: President Obama’s proposal comes as his appointed FCC chairman, Tom Wheeler, a former lobbyist for the cellphone and cable industries, is considering breaking with the president on net neutrality. According to The Washington Post, Wheeler met with officials from Google, Yahoo, Etsy on Monday and told them he preferred a more nuanced solution. Wheeler reportedly said, quote, "What you want is what everyone wants: an open Internet that doesn’t affect your business. What I’ve got to figure out is how to split the baby." On Monday, protesters called on Wheeler to favor net neutrality as they blockaded his driveway when he attempted to go to work.
PROTESTER: I’m sorry, but we can’t let you go to work today, because you work for Comcast, Verizon and AT&T, and not for the people. And so, we can’t let you go there, because you’re selling us out on Internet neutrality, and that’s not OK with us. So, we want to know which side you’re on, Tom.
AMY GOODMAN: Protests also took place in a dozen cities last week after The Wall Street Journal reported the FCC
is considering a so-called "hybrid" approach to net neutrality. This
would apply expanded protections only to the relationship between
Internet providers and content firms, like Netflix, and not to the
relationship between providers and users.
For more on the latest developments in the
debate over the Internet’s future, we’re joined by Steven Renderos of
the Center for Media Justice. As the Center’s national organizer, he
helped arrange two hearings with FCC Chair Tom
Wheeler earlier this year. Renderos is also part of a network of 175
social justice organizations from around the country called Media Action
Grassroots Network, or MAG-Net.
Welcome to Democracy Now!
STEVEN RENDEROS: Thank you for having me, Amy.
AMY GOODMAN: First start by talking about the significance of what President Obama said.
STEVEN RENDEROS:
It’s significant in the sense that what President Obama said was really
basically agree on all the points that we’ve been making around net
neutrality, the things that we actually agree to in regards to net
neutrality, meaning that there should be no blocking or discrimination,
meaning that Comcast can’t block the certain websites that I want to
visit, that there shouldn’t be fast lanes and slow lanes, no paid
prioritization schemes that allow websites to pay for faster access to
consumers. And most importantly for us, he talked about applying these
rules also to mobile broadband, which is where we know that a lot of,
you know, users of color tend to access the Internet, through their
cellphone devices; and in addition to that, also said that the way to do
it is by reclassifying the Internet as a Title II broadband
telecommunications service, essentially treating it like a utility,
which is, for most of us, what it is today.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Well, Steve, within hours of President Obama making the announcement earlier this week, my inbox at the New York Daily News
was literally flooded by opposition candidates from industry and other
conservative groups who basically portrayed this as a catastrophe for
business and for innovation on the Internet in America. How important is
this battle going to be now over the next few weeks on this issue of
what the FCC decides?
STEVEN RENDEROS:
Critically important. I mean, some of the indications that we’ve gotten
from Chairman Tom Wheeler is that he’d like to delay the vote now. When
he first came into office about a year ago into his position at the
FCC—
AMY GOODMAN: He may not have a choice, if they keep blockading his driveway.
STEVEN RENDEROS: Absolutely. He might not even be able to get to the FCC.
But he talked about wanting to get these rules done efficiently and
quickly, using a different set of authorities under Section 706 of the
Telecommunications Act. But now all of a sudden that the president has
laid it out fairly clearly what the roadmap is, now all of a sudden he
wants to step back and delay, which is unfortunate. Obviously, like
shortly after President Obama’s statement, Senator Ted Cruz came out
with his tweet, which is ironic, given that it’s because of an open
Internet that Senator Ted Cruz has like a platform like Twitter to be
able to share his misguided interpretations of what Obama is saying. But
it also provides a platform for other voices to be heard.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ:
And this whole issue of the government interfering with free enterprise
over the Internet, doesn’t it somehow distort the historical record of
how the Internet initially was created and the backbone of the Internet,
which was largely built as a result of government financing?
STEVEN RENDEROS:
Certainly. If you want to maintain innovation, maintain a place where
the Internet is an economic driving engine for us and all of our
communities throughout the United States, you want to maintain net
neutrality. That’s all it’s really doing, is basically keeping in place
what we’ve had with the Internet since its inception, how we’ve
experienced the Internet since its inception. It’s not about protecting
Google or Facebook. It’s really about providing the conditions for the
next Google and Facebook to exist.
AMY GOODMAN:
And just to clarify, the Ted Cruz tweet: "'Net Neutrality' is Obamacare
for the Internet: the Internet should not operate at the speed of
government."
STEVEN RENDEROS:
Sure, which means absolutely nothing. It’s great political theater. But
again, it’s because of an open Internet that Senator Ted Cruz has a
platform like that. But it’s also because of an open Internet that we
have platforms to hear about what’s happening in Ayotzinapa in Mexico.
It’s because of an open Internet that we get to hear about what’s
happening in Ferguson—all of these political moments much more
significant because people have a platform to actually share their
stories.
AMY GOODMAN:
Well, explain what you mean by that, because for people who aren’t
familiar with this whole debate, why wouldn’t they be able to know
what’s happening in Ferguson with a, quote, "hybrid" model? Why wouldn’t
they know what’s happening in Mexico?
STEVEN RENDEROS:
If you think about the foundational principles of the Internet, which
is very different to the rest of our media system, you know, users are
both consumers and producers of information. There’s no distinction. So,
you know, I can create a blog. I can start a Twitter stream. I can
start, you know, a Tumblr, like a lot of black trans women of color do.
They use Tumblr to, you know, shape their stories, shape their
representations, because the mainstream media doesn’t really reflect
their lived experiences. On the Internet, there is no distinction, and
so we are both consumers and producers of information, meaning that we
can control and shape our own narratives.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ:
Well, one of the things that Wheeler initially tried to do was make a
distinction between preserving net neutrality on broadband or through
cable services, for example, and—but not necessarily in terms of mobile
net. But recent reports have shown that the problems of telephone
companies and mobile companies also slowing down content has grown. Can
you talk about that, as well?
STEVEN RENDEROS:
Sure. I mean, the first thing to really think about is who’s on mobile?
Sixty percent of Latinos primarily use their cellphones to access the
Internet. Forty-three percent of African Americans use the Internet [sic] to primarily access the Internet.
AMY GOODMAN: The phone.
STEVEN RENDEROS:
So that’s who we’re talking about. Yeah, through their cellphone. So,
that’s who we’re talking about. That’s who needs to be protected. Part
of the fallacy of the FCC’s 2010 net neutrality rules was that it
completely left wireless unprotected. But the reality is, for the
Internet user, like my mom, for example, when she’s accessing Facebook
through her cellphone, that is the Internet to her. So it doesn’t
matter; there’s no distinction between accessing it through a computer
or through a cellphone for the user. It’s the Internet.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And some of the recent examples that were reported on in terms of cellphone providers impinging on net neutrality?
STEVEN RENDEROS:
Sure. We’ve seen examples in which AT&T, for example, blocked the
FaceTime app on the iPhone. We’ve seen examples, actually, shortly after
2010, the 2010 FCC net neutrality rules,
MetroPCS coming out with a tiered data plan that—where you pay $40, and
you get access to certain websites; you pay $10 more, and you get access
to more websites—which is essentially just taking the cable model and
applying it to the Internet.
AMY GOODMAN:
A series of public hearings have been held to draw attention to support
for net neutrality, including one in Brooklyn last month. Among those
who testified was Cayden Mak, technical director of 18 Million Rising.
CAYDEN MAK: I am 100 percent serious when I say I come from the Internet. The Internet raised me. The Internet saved my life. Have you ever been young and queer and brown in the great American suburb? Because I have. It takes its toll. Not all of us make it out—of the closet, of the subdivision, of our teenage years. Man, I am almost 28 years old, and it’s been a decade since I lived there, and I am still healing those wounds.
An open Internet isn’t just a matter of survival. It’s a matter of opening us to the possibility of magic, not just magic in an Arthur C. Clarke sense that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, but magic in the sense that we’re open to the encounter that will change us. The Internet gave me my first chosen family. It wasn’t just about ego tripping that there were these college kids on this message board who wanted to talk to me about ideas. It was about the moment of mutual recognition. It was a series of encounters that changed everything. The foggy predetermined procession of days snapped into focus. There, a route of escape that was not forfeit or death, a word for how I felt, concepts that described what I saw, other people who made it out alive. That’s how I know an open Internet is about making magic. I’ve seen it happen. I am living proof that when you have an open network that empowers the least among us to become creators just as much as the rich and powerful, we are literally saving lives.
AMY GOODMAN: That’s Cayden Mak, technical director of 18 Million Rising. Your response, Steve?
STEVEN RENDEROS: Online groups, like 18 Million Rising, Presente.org,
Color of Change, would not exist were it not for an open Internet. And
we need those spaces for—you know, for Asian Americans, for black and
Latinos to have a space to actually shape and be part of the political
system in a very significant way, and the open Internet provides that
for us.
AMY GOODMAN: Tom Wheeler is the former head of the NCTA, right, the National Cable and Telecommunications Association—
STEVEN RENDEROS: Yeah.
AMY GOODMAN: —which is now headed by Michael Powell, who is the former head of the FCC, Tom Wheeler, so they just switched places.
STEVEN RENDEROS: Talk about the revolving door. There’s no better example than that.
AMY GOODMAN: Yet President Obama appointed him.
STEVEN RENDEROS: Absolutely. And I think it will be an interesting moment now to see what Tom Wheeler chooses to do. There was a recent Washington Post
article that I think Juan alluded to, where Tom Wheeler is making—you
know, separating himself, saying, "We’re an independent agency. We’re
going to do our own thing." And there’s some real—he called President
Obama’s approach to net neutrality "naive" and "simplistic." It could be
"naive" and "simplistic." And what’s naive and simplistic is to really
consider that four million people have, you know, commented on this
issue, the most ever at the FCC, and to not really take those voices into account, 99 percent of which were in support of net neutrality.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ:
Steve, I’d like to ask you about a touchy question, because President
Obama, in taking this stand, is not only going against the cable
industry and the telecommunications industry, he’s also going against
many of the major civil rights organizations in the country, who have
been remarkably AWOL, some of them, on this
issue of net neutrality or have actually been supporting the cable
companies and the telecommunication companies, which always provide
their conferences and their conventions and their programs major
funding. Can you talk about this internal battle in the civil rights
community over the issue of net neutrality?
STEVEN RENDEROS:
Certainly. It’s unfortunate to see that a lot of the legacy civil
rights organizations have taken this kind of position when it comes to
such a critical, important issue in today’s day. You know, Rashad
Robinson from Color of Change oftentimes compares net neutrality to the
Voting Rights Act from the '60s. So I think it's very unfortunate that
that’s the reality today. However, there’s a whole online community of
people of color, of queer, trans, other communities that really stake
out their voices through an online—through an open net. So, yes, the
legacy civil rights organizations are not with us on this issue, but
there are new civil rights organizations, like Color of Change,
Presente.org, 18 Million Rising, that really present where we really
should be at.
AMY GOODMAN: And the number of people who responded online to the FCC around an open Internet? Was it—
STEVEN RENDEROS: Four million.
AMY GOODMAN:
Four million people. And the percentage of those who support an open
Internet, not the so-called "hybrid" model that Wheeler is putting
forward?
STEVEN RENDEROS: Ninety-nine percent. And what’s interesting is four million people, and that’s the most that the FCC has ever received on any issue. This is including Janet Jackson’s Super Bowlgate. So, you know, it’s pretty significant.
AMY GOODMAN: Steven Renderos, I want to thank you for being with us, with the Center for Media Justice. He is the national organizer.
This is Democracy Now! When we come back, a three-star lieutenant general says the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been lost. Stay with us.
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