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Privacy Online News reports
The "Removal of Net Neutrality Simulator" is a new Google Chrome browser extension [1] created by the good activists at Keep Our Net Free for education and awareness purposes. [It] simulates an online world without net neutrality (NN) where internet service providers (ISPs) control and squeeze your internet browsing experience for extra profit. The extension's functionality and stated goals are simple:
To demonstrate the impact of removing Net Neutrality, this extension slows your internet connection and blocks several websites.
All it takes is a few minutes of using the Internet with the "Removal of Net Neutrality Simulator" to get a clear grasp of why consumers deserve net neutrality. The creators of the dystopian simulator explained:
This extension shows you what the ramifications of this decision would be by slowing all websites except for "sponsored sites", and blocking content those sites' competitors' websites.
[1] All content is behind scripts.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by julian on Monday June 05 2017, @01:08AM (15 children)
I've never heard an argument against Net Neutrality from someone who clearly understood what they were talking about. Propaganda talking points based on false information have certainly spread very far, however.
(Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 05 2017, @01:13AM (7 children)
If you don't like what your ISP is doing, just make use of the massive ISP free market in the US to vote with your wallet. There are dozens of ISPs offering high-speed Internet access to choose from in any given area, so take your pick. And while we're at it, let's ban those damn municipal ISPs that towns and cities voluntarily try to create, since they interfere with the free market.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 05 2017, @02:09AM (5 children)
As always, it sounds like the problem is Government picking winners and losers; as you imply, that's not a Free Market.
Also, Net Neutrality restricts a market's ability to produce networks that cater to various usages; this is bad, because it is not the case that all bytes are equal.
(Score: 5, Informative) by julian on Monday June 05 2017, @02:33AM (2 children)
You are, knowingly or unknowingly, repeating an inaccurate talking point. NN does not stop ISPs from doing QOS. Also, the physical infrastructure of the Internet is a natural monopoly, so free market principles break down. You cannot rely on competition to police the big players because, for the most part, they don't compete with each other at all. Anyone in Comcast's market knows this painfully well.
In my neck of the woods it's Charter (now Spectrum) for "high speed" cable or you can get ATT DSL which I wouldn't even consider broadband at this point. Oh and you could also get dial up or satellite but again, I don't consider those to be broadband. So there is effectively zero competition and it is NOT the result of the government.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by frojack on Monday June 05 2017, @04:28AM
If you get control of the last Mile you can force competition, which is why municipal broadband is such an important concept. A County, or City can resell, or repackage content from the fastest provider for a specific source delivered to the last Mile provider's network.
Chances are, barring collusion, you would find one or more providers​ that will carry the desired content in a non degraded condition. Given that, you would reduce any incentive for carrier x to degrade any stream. Even if that degradation is only by favouring their own alternative service.
You effectively take the customer away or unionize them so to speak.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 05 2017, @12:25PM
What you call a "natural" monopoly is, as always, just Government coercing people into a particular pattern of existence.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 05 2017, @03:36AM (1 child)
the problem is Government picking winners and losers
If there was public ownership of the hardware (wires, cables, fiber) and -everyone- could compete providing services on an equal footing, that would be ideal, IMO.
Having one for-profit entity (or two[1]) own everything and it not being required to allow competition in the providing of services over those wires is the problem.
I see an obvious solution and that is proper regulation (government).
[1] ...and it seems there is non-compete collusion between the telco and cable providers.
Seems like a prosecutor doing his job could find a federal felony in that.
Net Neutrality restricts
As julian noted, that is bullshit you have swallowed.
Here's Net Neutrality in 4 words: All packets are equal.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 05 2017, @12:29PM
As OP already stated. Some are time-dependent; others are urgent. An email could take an hour, and it wouldn't matter in most cases, but clearly that is not the case for Netflix streaming data.
(Score: 1) by nitehawk214 on Monday June 05 2017, @04:50AM
I have actually heard people making this argument seriously. They are, of course, libertarians that would be fine using dialup while posting their manifestos from their woodland cabins, of course.
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Monday June 05 2017, @02:21AM (1 child)
The arguments I find most ridiculous were all based on the idea that "net neutrality" was going to be some kind of effort to apply the old Fairness Doctrine (that had required political balance from broadcasters from 1949 to 1986) to the Internet. That required some creativity, but it was common enough in some circles that it made it onto SN more than a few times.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2) by julian on Monday June 05 2017, @02:27AM
That's what I had in mind. It's the most egregious example of a totally fabricated talking point flogged by RWNJ radio hosts and FNC talking heads. The conservative low-information voter doesn't investigate deeper than what they hear from Hannity and Limbaugh.
They're pushing what's best for giant monopolistic corporations without regard for the health of the Internet or even the market itself.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 05 2017, @02:22AM (4 children)
Large corporations like Amazon and Netflix and Facebook pushed Net Neutrality as a means to get the US government to fight other large corporations like Verizon. They did this because they wanted the ISPs to treat all data the same way and to not discriminate based on IP address. A packet is a packet.
Once they got their way, by getting Net Neutrality passed, they proceeded to start discriminating against users who did things like use VPNs by blocking them from having access. Because now a packet isn't a packet, and only terrorists would use a VPN.
I live in a country with strong government censorship. This is a country where journalists are beaten and opposition party members are routinely sent to prison (yay socialism). I use a VPN. I literally cannot sign into my Facebook account now because of the VPN, and I have to do a captcha any time I use Google's search engine (which is getting less frequent these days). And yes, the Netflix account that I paid for was completely blocked, as well as Prime Video.
It was hypocritical for Net Neutrality to be passed, and then the companies who benefit from it turn around and implement the same restrictions. This was a dangerous collusion between government and some corporations. There was never any benefit for the customer in mind.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 05 2017, @03:49AM (2 children)
journalists are beaten and opposition party members are routinely sent to prison
You have been deceived about what Socialism is.
Here it is: The collective ownership of the means of production by the workers.
Notice that there's nothing about a political party in that.
The notion of single-party states came from Bolshevism.[1]
Bolshevism came after Lenin et al. abandoned Socialism (though they would still use the term deceptively when it suited their purpose).
[1] Menchevism was quite close to the Socialist ideal until they too abandoned their principles and decided to ally with the Petty Bourgeoisie.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 05 2017, @12:33PM (1 child)
You want to own the means of production? By some fucking stock; invest your capital productively.
If socialism is to work, it must be built atop capitalism; capitalism is the fundamental theory of human interaction.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 05 2017, @07:38PM
[Buy] [...] stock
You will then own a piece of paper.
The majority stockholders (billionaires) will then vote as a bloc, outvote you, and show how worthless your piece of paper is.
If socialism is to work, it must be built atop capitalism
Nitwits who can't think outside the box of Capitalism have no place in this discussion.
Socialism is DEMOCRACY EVERYWHERE, One worker==One vote; Capitalism is Oligarchy.
Socialism is the OPPOSITE of Capitalism.
If you don't get that, you are too ignorant to have an opinion that counts.
Keep working for The Man and keep making him richer while he continues to make you poorer.
...and the word you're looking for is ENTREPRENEURSHIP.
That can be done without idle, non-producing Capitalists.
The thousands of examples of Socialist workplaces across the globe are the evidence.
In your profound ignorance, however, you aren't aware of those.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by tibman on Monday June 05 2017, @04:27AM
Not sure why you think the two are linked. If people are using VPNs to avoid IP bans then of course services are going to raise the barrier. That has nothing to do with net neutrality. Your packet still arrived at the destination unmolested. The destination just thinks you might be scum. I'd suggest getting a better VPN. Not cheaper, faster, or more features. Just one with less trash clients using it.
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