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FCC Moves to Regulate Internet

hypocritexposer

Well-known member
I think this was one of those 'conspiracy theories', that were called untrue by the Liberals, here on Ranchers. :wink:

FCC Moves to Regulate Internet--Even Though the Law Calls for Internet to be 'Unfettered by Federal or State Regulation'
Friday, June 18, 2010
By Matt Cover, Staff Writer


(CNSNews.com) – The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted on Thursday to begin the formal process of bringing the Internet under greater federal control – a move sought by both President Barack Obama and FCC Chairnman Julius Genachowski--even though federal law calls for an Internet "unfettered by Federal or State regulation."

This step comes after the federal D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in April rebuked the FCC in its attempt to enforce a controversial regulatory doctrine called Net Neutrality, which would allow the government to prevent private Internet providers from deciding which applications to allow on their networks.

The court said that the FCC did not have the authority to prevent Comcast, specifically, from blocking certain peer-to-peer Web sites.

The FCC is now trying to reclassify the Internet to broaden its authority over the Web. Currently, the FCC only has “ancillary” authority, meaning it can regulate Internet access only in the process of regulating another service that it has direct authority over, such as television or cable.

The 3-2 party-line vote on Thursday at the FCC began the formal process of reclassifying the Internet as a telecommunications service instead of an information service – its current classification. This is necessary because, as an information service, the government has little power to regulate Internet networks.

As a telecommunications service, such as a telephone network, the Internet would fall under a much broader regulatory scope – giving the government the power to enforce universal service requirements, making them pay into a federal universal service fund used to provide communications services to poor areas.

The FCC will now begin the mandatory public comment period, where it will solicit input from private companies and citizens about whether it should reclassify the Internet and, if so, how it should do it

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/68003
 

jcummins

Well-known member
How heavy handed does everyone think this will be? Is it for developing a revenue source, like taxes on phones? Or will it be a huge power grab?
 

hypocritexposer

Well-known member
jcummins said:
How heavy handed does everyone think this will be? Is it for developing a revenue source, like taxes on phones? Or will it be a huge power grab?

I would assume that they have figured out that any taxes collected will not replace the loss to the economy, so I would guess that it is only a start to a power grab.

Net Neutrality to Inflict Losses in Jobs and GDP
From Robert Woodsum on Friday, June 18, 2010 11:19 AM

This week, the director of The Advanced Communications Law & Policy Institute of the New York Law School, Charles M. David, and Bret Swanson, president of Entropy Economics, a technology research firm, released a report highlighting the negative effects of Net Neutrality on job loss and GDP. Stratecast released a similar report recently, and this new report stands to reinforce those assertions. If Net Neutrality and other internet regulations are enacted, there will be a direct correlation in job losses and the U.S.’s Gross Domestic Product. The report summarizes that “Davidson and Swanson analyzed the hundreds of billions of dollars in broadband network expansion and upgrades over the past decade and determined they generated hundreds of thousands of jobs, annually contribute tens of billions of dollars to GDP, and have spurred innovation across the content and device sectors.”

As the economy is still in a “fragile state”, imposing any regulations along these lines will only damage the economy further. Swanson and David predict that over the next five years, broadband innovators will invest approximately $30 billion annually in fiber optic and wireless networks, resulting in 500,000 jobs. This, in turn, will spur others in the “broadband ecosystem” to invest at least $18 billion annually, creating 450,000 jobs. Net Neutrality restrictions, however, would result in anywhere from 500,000-700,000 jobs lost and decrease the GDP by $62-$80 billion.

It can’t be stressed enough that the FCC’s wishes of instituting Net Neutrality and placing regulation on the Internet is the best way to kill Internet growth and innovation. Yesterday, the FCC put out a notice of inquiry to begin such rulemaking. This report is yet another reason to oppose the FCC’s pursuit to regulate the Internet.



Read more: http://www.atr.org/net-neutrality-inflict-losses-jobs-gdp-a5105#ixzz0rF1ybjTN

PDF

NY Law School, Net Neutrality, Investment & Jobs: Assessing the Potential Impacts of the FCC’s Proposed Net Neutrality Rules on the Broadband Ecosystem
 
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