Excellent news! ~ ~ Sooz

The FCC Just Approved Net Neutrality
—By Inae Oh | Thu Feb. 26, 2015 1:40 PM EST

On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission voted to categorize the internet as a public utility and thereby uphold strong net neutrality regulations.

Advocates applauded the passage as a victory for internet consumers, blocking what had been described as the creation of internet "fast lanes" for companies willing to pay more for high-speed service.

The vote came down to a 3-2 margin, with dissents from Republicans Michael O'Reilly and Ajut Pai.

"The action that we take today is an irrefutable reflection of the principle that no one, whether government or corporate, should control free open access to the internet," FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said prior to the vote.

"The internet is simply too important to allow broadband providers to be the ones making the rules," he added.

In recent months, net neutrality has emerged as a divisive political issue, with fierce opposition against regulations coming from Republicans and broadband providers alike. President Obama's announcement back in November fully supporting net neutrality's preservation prompted members of the GOP to denounce the potential move.


http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2015/02/net-neutrality-rules-passed-fcc

This is REALLY A VERY BIG DEAL ~ I'm guessing there will be lawsuits, but I don't see "but we want to scam consumers" as a solid basis in lawsuits ~ ~ there are "live links" to more/corroborating information in the original ~ Sooz

FCC approves landmark net neutrality policy
02/26/15 02:49 PM
By Steve Benen

Proponents of net neutrality have been on a bit of a political roller coaster over the last couple of years, but as of today, the ride ended right where they wanted it to.


The policy shift was set in motion by President Obama, who, just a week after the 2014 midterms, announced a bold move on net neutrality. The president, a longtime champion of the policy, endorsed the “strongest possible rules” to protect net neutrality and urged the FCC to reclassify consumer broadband service to be regulated more like a public utility.

Earlier this month, the FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler signaled a willingness to do exactly that, leading to today’s vote from commission members. Predictably, the FCC was split along party lines – the three Democratic members voted for it, the two Republican members opposed it.

Timothy B. Lee added, “Consistent with longstanding practice, the FCC did not release its proposal in advance of today’s vote…. However, the agency has released a four-page fact sheet describing its major provisions. And it reads like a wishlist for network neutrality activists.”

And then, of course, there are net neutrality’s many opponents among GOP lawmakers.

The irony is, Republicans, especially at the national level, keep wooing Silicon Valley. As the L.A. Times reported a couple of weeks ago, it’s a tough sell.


Kevin Drum added that Republicans’ reflexive opposition to the policy is “eroding any chance they had of appealing to the growing tech industry, which is going to be even more firmly in the Democratic camp after this.”

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/fcc-approves-landmark-net-neutrality-policy

The GOP will forever be the party of tubes, a series of tubes, where the internet runs through if it doesn't get tangled up.