I'm talking about the FCC open meeting tomorrow. They have unleashed a whirlwind by vowing to get rid of Net Neutrality without any hearings or any mandate. The vote still appears to be a lost cause (there are three Republican FCC Commissioners already saying they will vote yes--and that's all they need), but the meeting is going to be flooded with protestors and the nation has woken up to what is happening.
The Democrats in the U.S. Senate are finally on the case. From Inside Radio this morning...
In their no holds barred letter, the senators call Pai’s plan “reckless” and “radical.” “Your proposed action will amount to the largest abdication of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) statutory responsibilities in history,” the letter says. But that’s just the opening paragraph. The Senators accuse Pai of throwing the FCC’s main responsibility to protect consumers and the public interest overboard – along with consumers themselves. “In short, you are walking away from your statutory duties and effectively eliminating FCC oversight over high-speed internet access,” the senators say.
The biggest complaint about Pai’s rollback plan is that it will allow internet service providers, or ISPs as they're called, to block, slow down or manipulate a consumer’s access to the internet – as long as it discloses those practices. But within what the senators call “mounds of legalese” contained in the Commission’s Restoring Internet Freedom order is also a provision that prevents state and local governments from adopting their own open internet protections. “It is not enough for the FCC to turn its back on consumers,” the Senators write. “You willfully plan to tie the states’ hands to prevent them from protecting their own residents.”
Pai has said he favors the “light-touch” regulation from earlier eras but the senators say that ignores the pervasive role the internet plays nowadays, when American homes and business rely on the web for everyday activities. “Your plan ignores the central and critical role that access to a free and open internet plays in Americans’ lives and the role that the nation’s expert communications agency should play with respect to the networks underlying that access,” the letter says. Even the Bush-era FCC had more teeth in its open internet policies, it adds. “The future of the internet hangs in the balance,” the senator conclude, calling on Pai to “abandon this radical and reckless plan to turn the FCC’s back on consumers and the future of the free and open internet.”
Meanwhile the FCC is preparing crowd overflow rooms at its 12th Street SW headquarters to accommodate what it calls “significant public interest” in the issue. As their name implies FCC Open Meetings are just that, open to the public. Once the Commission Meeting Room fills up, members of the public and press will be shuttled into overflow rooms, to watch a live video feed of the meeting – as long as space is available and attendees clear security. There will likely be plenty of protesters so the Commission is imposing a maximum size of 11 inches by 17 inches for signs attendees can bring into the rooms. There’s also a stipulation that the holder keeps the sign in front of his or her body to not obstruct anyone else’s views.
Why are they doing this--something that literally nobody wants them to do? There's only one possible reason. Keep an eye on where they work after their time in the FCC is up. (Chairman Pai already worked for the telecom giants BEFORE he got this job). It's pure and simple corruption, and it stinks to high heaven. Three people are destroying your internet, and there's nothing we can do about it, because the people we can complain to are the very people that are doing it.
