from an article by PC Magazine’s Dan Costa
It has been a long time coming, but the FCC finally managed to bring a set of general rules for managing how the Internet can and can’t be used in the U.S. Telcos are angry, net neutrality purists are irate, but these new FCC rules are a pretty good deal for the average American.
To the right-wing free market corporatists, the mere fact that a government agency could presume to have a say in how a private service like Internet access is sold is heresy. To the left-wing free-Web purists, the fact that these rules are not laws, have loopholes you could drive a truck through, and still allow ISPs to throttle Internet access, is a high crime. In other words, it is a compromise. But I think it is one I can live with, at least for now.
Before we get into what the rules actually say, let’s see how the extremes are casting today’s news. In an Op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell wrote:
On this winter solstice, we will witness jaw-dropping interventionist chutzpah as the FCC bypasses branches of our government in the dogged pursuit of needless and harmful regulation. The darkest day of the year may end up marking the beginning of a long winter’s night for Internet freedom.
Free Press Managing Director Craig Aaron released this statement:
“We are deeply disappointed that the chairman chose to ignore the overwhelming public support for real Net Neutrality, instead moving forward with industry-written rules that will for the first time in Internet history allow discrimination online.”
You would think he is talking about discrimination at poll stations in Selma, Alabama not directing traffic through varying network topologies.
How could two opposite sides be so offended by the same set of rules?
Read the actual wording and get a better understanding of the implications from the full article…
