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It’s with a heavy heart that I write, the FCC repealed Net Neutrality by a vote of 3–2. Votes followed party lines… Remember when professionals used to think for themselves? Now it’s party, party, party. Everyone votes party. And I’m left wondering, which websites will the Internet Service Providers choose to make fast sites? and which will they choose to make slow sites? how will ISPs block, throttle and discriminate stories, sources, and content?

Lawsuits have been filed in 17 states and Washington D.C. [2]. You can write your congressman, and speak out online [3]. Everyone deserves an accessible internet browser. Business should have equal opportunity to distribute goods and services through the internet. Net Neutrality is the principle that Internet service providers must treat all data on the Internet the same, and not discriminate or charge differently by user, content, website, platform, application, type of attached equipment, or method of communication [4].

FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn said of the repeal, “I don’t know whether this plan will vacated by a court, reversed by Congress or overturned by a future commission. But I believe that’s day’s are numbered. Amen to that.” [5]

The biggest ISPs spent at least $26.3 Million on lobbying [6]. $26.3 Million. This decision may crash a couple industries [7]. Couldn’t more be spent by those in favor of internet freedom? Donate to fight for our future [8].

The internet is a remarkable place [9]. Protect it for all.

Take a closer look at the pro-deregulation arguments, too [10]. The deeper I dove, the more they read as nonsense [11]. It’s necessary to consider how law will change the value of companies involved. Internet service providers are fighting for a larger share of the internet $$$. Business on the Internet is fighting to lessen the Internet service provider’s involvement. Some think repealing net-neutrality could destroy their small business [12].

Natural language processing techniques have confirmed that more than a million pro-repeal net neutrality comments were likely faked [13]. Technology can uncover hidden agendas.

FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said, “This decision puts the Federal Trade Commissions on the wrong side of history, the wrong side of the law, and the wrong side of the American public” [14]. Other citizens are fine letting telecom companies decide how they use the internet [15].

When something will benefit thousands and penalize hundreds of millions [16], power is too centralized. What could a decentralized internet on the blockchain look like? [17]

Don’t forget, “In February 2014, Netflix paid an undisclosed amount of money to Comcast for the right to place its own servers in Comcast facilities. Netflix was effectively paying for the right to have its traffic receive priority treatment on Comcast’s network, which had the potential to hurt other providers and competing streaming and content delivery services. It then made similar deals with AT&T and Verizon.” [18]

But Netflix tweeted, “We’re disappointed in the decision to gut #NetNeutrality protections that ushered in an unprecedented era of innovation, creativity & civic engagement. This is the beginning of a longer legal battle. Netflix stands w/ innovators, large & small, to oppose this misguided FCC order.” [19]

The Internet is our platform for global communication.

The FCC tweeted, “The FCC just voted to restore the long-standing, bipartisan approach to protecting Internet freedom #OpenMtgFCC” [20]. I’m unsure what vote they described.

The Internet will remain what you make it.

And I then tweeted, “so cool: http://pineapplefund.org” [21]. If the loss of net neutrality will screw the common man [21], we might as well use the Internet to find people who are using it to donating $86 million of bitcoins to charity while we still can [23].

Until next time, don’t take the realities of the world for granted.

Kind Regards,

David Smooke, @AMI

[PS] this message is brought to you by mabl, our weekly sponsor.

[1] Revisiting The World Wide Web & Net Neutrality. by Zaid Ikhlas.

[2] Twitter.com/@SenatorDurbin/status/941346392018227202

[3] BattleforTheNet.com

[4] wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_neutrality

[5] NBC Twitter Video.

[6] Reported FastCompany

[7] Will Killing Net Neutrality Crash the Economy? Industry by Industry breakdown. by Roger DeGennaro

[8] Donate to FightforOurFuture.com

[9] Net Neutrality II: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO Youtube)

[10]An FAQ for Defending Net Neutrality. A closer look at pro-deregulation arguments and how to rebut them, by andrena.tech.

[11] Five Reasons Chairman Pai Says Gutting Net Neutrality Helps Startups and Why They’re All Nonsense, by Engine.

[12] How repealing net-neutrality could destroy my small business. by Rocco Balsamo

[13] More than a Million Pro-Repeal Net Neutrality Comments were Likely Faked by Jeff Kao

[14] CBS Twitter Video.

[15] I Don’t Care About Net Neutrality Because I’m Fine Letting Greedy Telecom Companies Decide How I Use The Internet by Whitney Meers.

[16] Twitter.com/joshngetto/status/941335651659722752

[17] Decentralized Internet on Blockchain. by andrena.tech.

[18] Some Thoughts on Net Neutrality by Revati Kapshikar & Will an internet “fast lane” ruin the web? by American Economic Association

[19] Twitter.com/netflix/status/941373853216915456

[20] Twitter.com/FCC/status/941371054437621760

[21] Twitter.com/DavidSmooke/status/941363463393198085

[22] The Loss of Net Neutrality will Screw the Common Man by RogerKay

[23] PineappleFund.org: Donating $86 million of bitcoins to charity Because once you have enough money, money doesn’t matter.