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posted by martyb on Monday July 16 2018, @05:03AM   Printer-friendly
from the equal-justice-under-the-law...for-those-who-have-money dept.

Submitted via IRC for Fnord666

FCC plans to stop reviewing informal complaints—filing a formal one costs $225.

Ajit Pai's Federal Communications Commission is proposing that it stop reviewing the vast majority of consumer complaints about telecom companies. Going forward, consumers harmed by broadband, TV, and phone companies would have to pay $225 in order to get an FCC review of their complaints.

The FCC accepts two types of complaints: informal ones and formal ones. It costs nothing to file an informal complaint and $225 to file a formal one; given that, consumers almost always file informal complaints. Besides the filing fee, formal complaints kick off a court-like proceeding in which the parties appear before the FCC and file numerous documents to address legal issues. It isn't an easy process for consumers to go through.

[...] Chairman Pai's proposal to change the informal complaint procedure comes in a larger proposal about formal complaints; the change to informal complaints is explained in a footnote. "We delete the phrase 'and the Commission's disposition' from the last sentence of that rule because the Commission's practice is not to dispose of informal complaints on substantive grounds," the footnote says.

Customers will still be able to submit informal complaints, and telecom providers will still be required to respond to them within 30 days. But consumers who don't get what they want from the ISP will have to file a formal complaint and pay the $225 in order to get the FCC to take any action.

Even if the telecom provider fails to reply to an informal complaint, the only recourse would be filing a formal one. "[T]he Commission will notify the complainant that if the complainant is not satisfied by the carrier's response, or if the carrier has failed to submit a response by the due date, the complainant may file a formal complaint," the proposed version of the FCC complaint rule says. By contrast, the current version of the rule says that "the Commission will contact the complainant regarding its review and disposition of the matters raised. If the complainant is not satisfied by the carrier's response and the Commission's disposition, it may file a formal complaint."

Democrats from the FCC and Congress say the change will make it more difficult (and expensive) for consumers to get complaints resolved. "This is bonkers. It's unacceptable," FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement to Ars.

Source: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/07/ajit-pais-fcc-wants-to-stop-reviewing-your-complaints-unless-you-pay-225/

But, see also: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2018/07/11/no-fcc-is-not-forcing-consumers-pay-file-complaints/.


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  • (Score: 5, Interesting) by ilPapa on Monday July 16 2018, @05:59AM (38 children)

    by ilPapa (2366) on Monday July 16 2018, @05:59AM (#707818) Journal

    The backlash for Trumpism is going to be delicious. It's a shame a lot of people will have already been hurt, but when it turns around, the reckoning will be awesome.

    --
    You are still welcome on my lawn.
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  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by TheReaperD on Monday July 16 2018, @06:07AM (17 children)

    by TheReaperD (5556) on Monday July 16 2018, @06:07AM (#707819)

    You're giving a lot a credit to your average 'Murican. *sigh* I so want to be wrong, but I can't muster any faith in the populace of the US anymore. I am in the US myself but, people keep disappointing me again and again and my vote alone doesn't mean shit.

    --
    Ad eundum quo nemo ante iit
    • (Score: 2) by zocalo on Monday July 16 2018, @06:42AM (6 children)

      by zocalo (302) on Monday July 16 2018, @06:42AM (#707824)
      Yep, they're just going to roll over and accept their next few steps along the path back to serfdom to the corporates that have replaced the land owners of yesteryear. That's going to become perfectly apparent in the 2018 elections, I think, when the usual polarised Dem/Rep voting will result in absolutely no real change in the House, as usual. It's not that USians can't get passionate about political matters - take gun control for instance - it's just that it's all focussed on what are seen as the big issues, while the smaller issues that can really make a difference to day to day living are being kicked to the kerb piecemeal. Not that the US is the only country with the problems of an electorate failing to see the bigger picture or to understand consequences, of course.
      --
      UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
      • (Score: 5, Interesting) by ilPapa on Monday July 16 2018, @06:47AM (5 children)

        by ilPapa (2366) on Monday July 16 2018, @06:47AM (#707826) Journal

        Yep, they're just going to roll over and accept their next few steps along the path back to serfdom to the corporates that have replaced the land owners of yesteryear.

        Don't underestimate Americans we eventually work around to doing the right thing. As Dr King said, "the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”

        There are certain stains that will never come out. We may have to burn the bed linens at the White House. Hell, we may have to burn the whole thing down and start over. But we'll get there.

        --
        You are still welcome on my lawn.
        • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 16 2018, @03:23PM (2 children)

          by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 16 2018, @03:23PM (#707910)

          He was speaking in a time before legalized bribery. When he and his fellow civil rights activists were struggling, it was mostly a matter of getting enough voters on board with making steps towards equality as they could change things without the consent of the ruling class.

          Those days are long behind, there's plenty of companies out there that don't need to care about their public image because there's no competition left or the little competition that exists is also bad on that issue. When they want to engage in unpopular political activity, they just funnel it through one of those political nonprofits that issues issue ads that are supposed to be non-partisan, but in practice all but tell voters who or what to vote for.

          If the progressive wing of the Democratic party doesn't have a massive showing during the next couple elections, we can pretty much stick a fork in our democracy as it's done.

          • (Score: 1, Troll) by khallow on Monday July 16 2018, @04:42PM (1 child)

            by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Monday July 16 2018, @04:42PM (#707939) Journal

            He was speaking in a time before legalized bribery.

            No, he wasn't. Legalized bribery has been a thing for thousands of years.

            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 18 2018, @12:08AM

              by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 18 2018, @12:08AM (#708587)

              I had to think about that troll mod you got, my guess is that the point was that the Civil Rights movement was not about monetary corruption. The dickheads in charge got to push their racist agendas because the general population still needed to catch up to modern morality.

              Today we are still waiting for a LOT of people in the US and in other countries to get with the modern culture. Equal status for all races and genders.

              Maybe we should go the route of Team America: World Police, but I just don't trust our "current" leadership. Maybe JFK or FDR could have been decent choices, I don't know enough about them really, but everyone since has been garbage sellouts.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 16 2018, @09:42PM (1 child)

          by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 16 2018, @09:42PM (#708107)

          MLK killed more people than JFK and LBJ together.

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 17 2018, @12:37AM

            by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 17 2018, @12:37AM (#708150)

            I am very curious to see how this claim is constructed. MLK Jr? Or Sr?

            Who would win? MLK vs. HRC! Let's have a death battle!

    • (Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Monday July 16 2018, @11:33AM (3 children)

      ... as well as section 8 housing, or the Permanent Assistive Housing that I'm presently on.

      I watched a video about Mitch McConnell's home town in Kentucky. The people there were deeply distressed that McConnell and Trump were both acting _directly_ in opposition to their own interests.

      I don't expect _all_ those people to vote Democratic. Quite likely lots of them will stay home.

      --
      Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
      • (Score: 2, Troll) by realDonaldTrump on Monday July 16 2018, @12:57PM (1 child)

        by realDonaldTrump (6614) on Monday July 16 2018, @12:57PM (#707876) Homepage Journal

        They have a great guy in Kentucky, Governor Matt Bevin. He wants to put folks BACK TO WORK. And he said, OK, you want the Medicaid dental & eyes, first you go to work. Or go to school. You work, you study, we check your eyes & make your teeth look FABULOUS. And you can be VERY PROUD because you earned it! Great offer, right? But a judge told him "no." And Governor Bevin canceled the eye checks & dental for everybody. At the beginning of July he canceled, we still have to go through the legal on that one. The appeals. Possibly to SC (Judge Brett & Justice Gorsuch). But if it goes through, BIG SAVINGS!!!

        • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 16 2018, @06:01PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 16 2018, @06:01PM (#707978)

          Boring, time to make a new joke account the Trump parody is getting stale.

          But hey you're running a troll account so I'm sure any annoyance / boredom caused is just more reason to keep going. I suggest branching out into Sanders, maybe Conway, expand your repertoire.

      • (Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 16 2018, @06:33PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 16 2018, @06:33PM (#708003)

        That's odd, most Trump supporters cheer when he acts directly against their interests.

    • (Score: 2, Insightful) by RS3 on Monday July 16 2018, @12:44PM (4 children)

      by RS3 (6367) on Monday July 16 2018, @12:44PM (#707875)

      Could it be that us "'murcenz" [phonetic pronunciation] vote largely on what we hear in the news media? Notice I did not say "in accordance with the news" - some vote in opposition to mainstream news stories.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 16 2018, @08:39PM (3 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 16 2018, @08:39PM (#708081)

        Where is it that people leave off the initial "A" in american? I've never heard it every pronounced like that IRL except ironically by hipsters.

        • (Score: 2) by RS3 on Tuesday July 17 2018, @01:19AM (2 children)

          by RS3 (6367) on Tuesday July 17 2018, @01:19AM (#708164)

          It's somewhat sarcastic / self-effacing stereotype. It refers to a fairly large percentage of the US population who are somewhat "backwoodsy", "hicks", "redneck". The stereotype usually includes a fairly heavy accent and kind of lazy drawl in speech, hence the "'merican", generally into Country music, driving trucks, usually into guns, hunting, beer, somewhat sloppy clothing. I'm sure others will help augment my response (as well as bash it).

          • (Score: 2) by TheReaperD on Monday July 30 2018, @10:34PM (1 child)

            by TheReaperD (5556) on Monday July 30 2018, @10:34PM (#714973)

            You're dead on for the redneck reference I was making. Where I live, there's a nearby neighborhood filled with stereotypical rednecks and the way they slur "America" just makes me laugh and shake my head.

            --
            Ad eundum quo nemo ante iit
            • (Score: 2) by RS3 on Tuesday July 31 2018, @12:35AM

              by RS3 (6367) on Tuesday July 31 2018, @12:35AM (#715001)

              I'm quite aware and honored that people around the world use this system. A common social gaffe, which I've done too many times, is to hear a slang term, think you understand it, and misuse it. Recently here someone defined "troll" perfectly for me, so I thought I'd toss in my $0.02 for "Murican". "Rednecks" come in many flavors. I cross paths with too many in and around Appalachia. I even see them in and around big cities, in their lifted pickup trucks with huge tires, essentially no muffler, and of course, red neck.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 18 2018, @07:45PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 18 2018, @07:45PM (#708963)

      Voting with the ammo box won't work, so voting with your feet is the only way to make your voice heard while not being oppressed by the idiots. Our forefathers did it coming to America in search of a better life. We can do it going elsewhere or founding new nations as they once did. We have the technology to live in far more inhospitable places than past societies existed with far better trade and communications.

  • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday July 16 2018, @06:37AM (16 children)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Monday July 16 2018, @06:37AM (#707823) Journal

    Tit for tat, and you're saying that you'll delight in whichever your party goes for. And, the mindless game goes on and on, ad nauseum.

    How about some kind of SOLUTION?!?!?!?!

    Face it, Ajit Pai is the telecom's bitch. We knew that, he knew that, the telecoms knew that, and Trump certainly knew that. Why in hell hasn't congress written laws to prevent this kind of shit? Somewhat like immigration, the two parties kick the can around and around, passing off any decisions, and taking advantage of confusion for their own ends. One party sees illegals as potential votes, the other party sees them as cheap labor - and the US citizen is screwed again and again. Why aren't we demanding that congress FIX THIS STUFF?

    But - instead, you look forward for some comeuppance when your party takes charge?

    Think again, little buddy. The Orangutan is busily installing one supreme right now. Chances are, he'll appoint another before his term is up, maybe even two. At that point, your progressive hopes are well and truly fucked, for decades to come. And, just think. Trump MIGHT win another term, and appoint yet another supreme or two!!

    If you add two and two, and get four, then you should understand that the progressives won't be seeing any comeuppance any time soon.

    Now, instead of gloating over some imaginary future payback that won't happen in your lifetime - can you offer any solutions?

    • (Score: 5, Interesting) by ilPapa on Monday July 16 2018, @06:43AM (12 children)

      by ilPapa (2366) on Monday July 16 2018, @06:43AM (#707825) Journal

      Now, instead of gloating over some imaginary future payback that won't happen in your lifetime - can you offer any solutions?

      Oh, you don't want my solutions. They all involve public corporal punishment and/or executions of some powerful public figures and corporate leaders.

      The good news is that after my solutions, the elite will be a lot better behaved.

      --
      You are still welcome on my lawn.
      • (Score: 5, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Monday July 16 2018, @06:51AM (9 children)

        by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Monday July 16 2018, @06:51AM (#707827) Journal

        Actually - I might like your solutions. I'm a believer in corporal punishment, as well as capital punishment. The average neighborhood dickhead who wants to be a gangsta shouldn't be in prison. He should have be publicly caned, and forced to make reparations for his petty crimes, while working in the community to support himself and/or his woman and his children. Instead, we have this whole prison for profit scam, with families destroyed, lives ruined, and only rich sons of bitches gloating.

        Now, if you're going to mete out proper justice to politicians - you'd better make damned sure to pass it on to your own party. If you think that there aren't several hundred democrats who deserve flogging or execution, then you are deluded.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 16 2018, @02:02PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 16 2018, @02:02PM (#707883)

          Id say the vast majority on both sides of the aisle could do with a good flogging and a few weeks in the stocks.

        • (Score: 2) by bzipitidoo on Monday July 16 2018, @02:43PM

          by bzipitidoo (4388) on Monday July 16 2018, @02:43PM (#707899) Journal

          Mr. Filch, is that you?

          I'm a believer in justice. There's a lot of problems with punishment, and the worst is unfair punishment. It's bad enough when honest mistakes lead to the innocent being punished for something they didn't do. Destructive punishment, like deliberately breaking a toy two children are fighting over, so neither can ever have it again, is worse. The MAFIAA goes for that sort, wants people cut off from the Internet immediately and permanently, on the mere accusation of piracy. (Well, they really want everyone kicked off the Internet, forever, in the religious conviction that it unfairly hurts their profits.) Then there's disproportionate punishment, such as 30 years for downloading a few research papers. Corrupted and bribed judges, referees, umpires and the like are horrible. Think of all the scandals in sports over the years passed off as bad calls and bad officiating. So now the FCC doesn't want to do their jobs and officiate any more, unless they receive a hefty fee?

          But when it's a railroading, when the officials know they have the wrong person and dish it out anyway because they don't care, and they want to put on a big fat lie of a punishment circus for the public, to show how tough they are on crime, or the accused and wrongly convicted knows a few embarrassing things about them and they want to silence that citizen, or they want to fill the cells at their buddies' private prison and extract all the wealth they can from whatever the citizen may have, or all of the above, it's dangerous. Prison industrial complex. They can get away with a little of that, but push it too far, and it will spark a rebellion.

          Look at red light cameras for an example. Increasing safety and punishing wrongdoers were merely the excuses for the real agenda of taking in money. Most telling were the numerous times the operators were busted for doing one of the most unsafe things they could do, shortening the yellow light. Obviously they shortened the yellow to generate more ticket revenue, and safety be damned. I make a point of not patronizing cities that run such scams. Helps when they post signs bragging about their red light cameras.

          Having said all that, I do want to see punishment dished out when it will serve as a deterrent for genuinely anti-social and harmful behavior. But be very careful, very, very careful, that it is a just punishment.

        • (Score: 2) by ilPapa on Monday July 16 2018, @03:27PM (1 child)

          by ilPapa (2366) on Monday July 16 2018, @03:27PM (#707914) Journal

          Now, if you're going to mete out proper justice to politicians

          Politicians would not be first on my list. I was thinking more along the lines of their sponsors in the corporate world and state-run (Fox/Sinclair/Mercer) media.

          --
          You are still welcome on my lawn.
          • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Monday July 16 2018, @04:26PM

            by Gaaark (41) on Monday July 16 2018, @04:26PM (#707937) Journal

            I'm thinking BOTH!

            --
            --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
        • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 16 2018, @05:27PM (4 children)

          by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 16 2018, @05:27PM (#707952)

          Just FYI this is one of your fascist-lite posts. It is hard for you to realize since in so many ways you are pro-freedom and anti-corruption, but I think the fascist in all of us stems from anger and desire for vengeance. It then becomes the slippery slope.

          Depriving someone of freedom and their property (restitution) is enough. Physical assault is unnecessary and often counter productive.

          On a side note, I sure hope you believe that water boarding is torture. If not, then do your homework and then realize how easily you accept things you staunchly say you don't.

          • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Monday July 16 2018, @06:57PM (3 children)

            by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Monday July 16 2018, @06:57PM (#708014) Journal

            I really don't know what reality you live in. There is nothing "fascist" about seeking justice. Physical assault? Yeah, that's some bad stuff. But, you tell me which is more barbaric, and more torturous:

            Man commits a petty crime, he is sentenced to ten lashes with a cane, or maybe a cat o' nine. He takes his lashes, lays around the house for a couple days being doctored, then gets his ass to work to pay off the fines and restitution. When the money is paid off, he is a free man.

            Same man commits a petty crime in today's America, he gets a slap on the fingers - twice, ten times, twenty times. Again and again, he's sent to lounge in the county jail, for periods of a week, up to six months. Finally the judge decides the guy is incorrigible, and sends him to prison for a decade. It takes 5 to 10 years of molly-coddling the average wannabe gangsta, before the judge hammers him. Now the young idiot has anywhere between 10 and 20 years invested in his life of crime - all because no one could convince him that a life of crime would kill him.

            Had the first judge to address this young man CONVINCED HIM that a life of crime can and will kill a man, the kid could have learned a skill, and started a meaningful career. Instead, people with your attitude and/or opinion simply scolded the kid for a couple years, then talked sternly, then finally locked him up for a significant portion of his life.

            Whether on the giving or the recieving end, I'll opt for a public whipping on the town square, thank you very much. Prison is very close to the most barbaric thing you can do to the bad boys.

            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 17 2018, @02:53PM (2 children)

              by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 17 2018, @02:53PM (#708342)
              You didn't happen to read Robert Heinlein during your formative years, did you?
              • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday July 17 2018, @03:17PM (1 child)

                by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday July 17 2018, @03:17PM (#708358) Journal

                Define "formative years", please. I'm 62 years old, and I'm still learning. I realize that is not fashionable - most people put in 8 to 12 years of "public education", and never learn another (legal) thing in their lives.

                • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 17 2018, @07:25PM

                  by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 17 2018, @07:25PM (#708475)

                  So a Big Fat Yes?

                  Heinlein had a lot of great ideas, but the dude was a total misogynist pretending to be a feminist. Ditto for benevolent dictatorships. I give him a bit of a pass due to the generation he was raised in, taking that into account he was quite progressive.

                  As for being fascist, per wikipedia "Fascism is a form of radical authoritarian ultranationalism, characterized by dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition and control of industry and commerce."

                  Besides, I said fascist-lite. You are pro-freedom in many ways but apparently you can't comprehend that you might have aspects that are anything else. Typical human cluelessness, totally a bipartisan issue lol. You quite frequently regress back to your military training / brainwashing and make me go from "Runaway is conservative but not too crazy" to "wait WTF? Really?" Take or leave the feedback, but it would do you good to keep that in mind. Maybe one day you'll see your behavior and kinda pop out of your usual mindset and say "WTF did I just say? Why??"

      • (Score: 5, Funny) by c0lo on Monday July 16 2018, @06:58AM

        by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Monday July 16 2018, @06:58AM (#707828) Journal

        They all involve public corporal punishment and/or executions of some powerful public figures and corporate leaders.

        It sounds to me closer to a gel (like in "beaten to a pulp") than clear solution.

        --
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
      • (Score: 3, Funny) by realDonaldTrump on Monday July 16 2018, @11:37AM

        by realDonaldTrump (6614) on Monday July 16 2018, @11:37AM (#707860) Homepage Journal

        Oh, please don't spank me with a Forbes magazine!

    • (Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 16 2018, @04:06PM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 16 2018, @04:06PM (#707929)

      First thought, stop complaining at and about congress and other leaders. They're developing a thick skin and immunity to us and our wishes.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 16 2018, @06:06PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 16 2018, @06:06PM (#707980)

        Developing???

        It was always there, they just had to pretend otherwise so people wouldn't get too upset. Trump desensitized everyone to shitty behavior and unsurprisingly Republicans just went nuts with ... errr... "honesty".

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 16 2018, @10:59PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 16 2018, @10:59PM (#708119)

        First thought, stop complaining at and about congress and other leaders...

        "Leaders"? In your country you do as *THEY* say instead of the other way around?

  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by SpockLogic on Monday July 16 2018, @12:03PM

    by SpockLogic (2762) on Monday July 16 2018, @12:03PM (#707865)

    "You can always count on Americans to do the right thing - after they've tried everything else".

    Winston S. Churchill

    My fear is there are far too many "everything else's" yet to come.

    --
    Overreacting is one thing, sticking your head up your ass hoping the problem goes away is another - edIII
  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by LoRdTAW on Monday July 16 2018, @12:28PM (1 child)

    by LoRdTAW (3755) on Monday July 16 2018, @12:28PM (#707871) Journal

    Nah, they'll just blame it on obama, hillary, the democrats, liberals, hippies, atheists, and pot smokers; the ignorant masses will eat that shit up and business continues as usual. Never underestimate the predictability of stupidity -BTT

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 16 2018, @06:10PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 16 2018, @06:10PM (#707983)

      Thankfully the "millenial" generations seem to be a shifting of the tides, fewer and fewer young people engage seriously in religion and the hardcore rightwing loyalty. Human fallibility will be there forever, but I do have very real hope that the insane levels of ignorance and stupidity are decreasing.

      Problem is the corporate controlled media feeding us opposing narratives, blowing things way out of proportion and downplaying any story about people successfully pushing back against the system.