Tag: net neutrality

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Burger King Explains Net Neutrality

From Burger King:

The repeal of Net Neutrality is a hot topic in America, but it can be very difficult to understand. That’s why the BURGER KING® brand created WHOPPER® Neutrality, a social experiment that explains the effects of the repeal of Net Neutrality by putting it in terms anyone can understand: A WHOPPER® sandwich.

This effort aims to help people understand how the repeal of Net Neutrality will impact their lives.

The BURGER KING® brand believes the Internet should be like the WHOPPER® sandwich: the same for everyone.

Help keep Net Neutrality safe by signing the petition at Change.org/SavetheNet

Last year, Burger King created a video to address the issue of bullying.

(h/t JoeMyGod)

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How Ending Net Neutrality Could Actually Affect You

With the rollback of “Net Neutrality” by the FCC yeaterday, a lot of folks are hearing a lot about how this will or won’t affect you, the consumer.

Basically, it means that internet providers can charge different fees for different services; and they can treat different websites or outlets differently.

For instance, Comcast, which owns both Xfinity and Hulu, could decide to provide faster service to Hulu and slower service to direct competitor Netflix. Or any competitor of Hulu’s.

Additionally, if Comcast had a particular political leaning, they could slow down or block consumer access to websites with opposing political views.

CNN’s Chris Cuomo explains better than I. Watch below.

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FCC Votes To Repeal Net Neutrality Regulations

Further dismantling Obama-era regulations, the Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 today to undo rules that stop broadband companies from charging more for access to certain websites or services like Netflix.

From The New York Times:

The Federal Communications Commission voted on Thursday to dismantle landmark rules regulating the businesses that connect consumers to the internet, granting broadband companies the power to potentially reshape Americans’ online experiences.

The agency scrapped the so-called net neutrality regulations that prohibited broadband providers from blocking websites or charging for higher-quality service or certain content. The federal government will also no longer regulate high-speed internet delivery as if it were a utility, like phone service.

The action reversed the agency’s 2015 decision, during the Obama administration, to better protect Americans as they have migrated to the internet for most communications. It will take a couple of weeks for the changes go into effect, but groups opposed to the action have already announced plans to sue the agency to restore the net neutrality regulations. Those suits could take many months to be resolved.

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Sen. Al Franken: Net Neutrality Is About Leaving Something The Way It Already Is, Not Changing It

Sen. Ted Cruz recently wrote in a Washington Post op-ed that net neutrality “would put the government in charge of determining Internet pricing, terms of service and what types of products and services can be delivered, leading to fewer choices, fewer opportunities and higher prices.”

Because Cruz is so busy opposing anything President Obama would support, Cruz forgot to even read what “net neutrality” actually is.

Oh – Sen. Cruz also forgot to tell you that he has received tens of thousands of dollars from internet service providers who would love to be able to make companies pay more.  Yeah, he didn’t mention that, did he?

Net Neutrality is the idea that everyone should have the same access to the internet, which is what has existed since we all got on the inter webs 20 years ago. Some internet service providers would like to be able to charge more for a “fast lane” to those who can afford it which would in turn slow down those websites with smaller budgets.

For instance, last year Comcast demanded that Netflix pay millions of dollars or they would throttle Netflix users stream making it more difficult to watch movies.  During negotiations Comcast did just that until Netflix was forced to pay to get their subscribers back to a “normal” internet feed.

Read a simple explanation of the whole issue here.

Sen. Al Franken responded to Cruz’ inaccuracies like this on CNN:

“Obamacare was a government program that fixed something that changed things,” Franken clarified for Tea Party favorite Cruz. “This is about reclassifying something so it stays the same. This would keep things exactly the same that they’ve been.”

Watch the video below:

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President Obama Says The Internet Should Be Open And Free

President Obama today urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to take up the strongest possible rules to protect net neutrality, the principle that says Internet service providers (ISPs) should treat all internet traffic equally.

From USA Today:

In the statement, the president noted that “the FCC is an independent agency, and ultimately this decision is theirs alone.”

Obama urged an “explicit ban” on “paid prioritization,” agreements in which large content providers pay Internet companies for faster delivery. This involves such profitable, high-traffic sites such as Netflix, Amazon and YouTube.

He also called for banning the blocking of certain websites and the “throttling” of Internet service.