The unbearable clarity of "common carrier" status
:: ::
The title of this post is neither hyperbole nor metaphor. It is literal.
F.C.C. Considering Hybrid Regulatory Approach to Net Neutrality
By EDWARD WYATT, The New York Times, Oct. 31, 2014
[T]he hybrid approach would apply Title II of the Communications Act of 1934 to the connection between Internet service providers, or I.S.P.s, and content providers. [...]
The retail portion, the transaction that sends data through the Internet service provider to the consumer and which allows the consumer to access any legal content on the Internet, would receive a lighter regulatory touch.
No deal, Chairman Wheeler. Title II is common carrier. That's the classification used for traditional telephone service, in which every call is treated equally. That's actual neutrality. As the courts have correctly ruled, Title I classification does not allow the FCC the authority to issue neutrality regulations.
The courts and us citizens already told you: common carrier or bust.
This proposal means bust. As in, break the Internet.
Caveat: the NYT's sources are anonymous "people close to the discussions."
Secondary major issue with the proposal: The division between "content providers" and "consumers" sounds a lot like the effort to formalize a division between "journalists" and citizens.
FCC Chair: I could make Net neutrality happen today, but I don't wanna
By Simplify, Apr. 30, 2014
Lake Net-Be-Gone: Where Everyone Is Above Average
By Simplify, May 19, 2014