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posted by takyon on Thursday January 03 2019, @10:13PM   Printer-friendly
from the unchecked dept.

Submitted via IRC for SoyCow1984

FCC Chairman Pai celebrates Congress failing to bring back net neutrality

As one Congress ends and another begins, many are looking forward to a rebalancing of power — especially in the House of Representatives, which Democrats handily retook in November. But FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is more pleased with what the House failed to do — namely, roll back his repeal of net neutrality rules.

To be fair, he does have reason to celebrate; no one likes to see their work undone. But a statement issued today tells a very selective message about congressional opposition to his master plan.

"I'm pleased that a strong bipartisan majority of the U.S. House of Representatives declined to reinstate heavy-handed Internet regulation," Pai said. The "heavy-handed" remark is the usual boilerplate in reference to 2015's rules, which used what the current FCC calls "depression-era" regulations to exert control over internet providers. That aspersion doesn't really make sense, as I've noted before.

And the "strong bipartisan majority" bears a bit of explanation as well. Indeed, the Democrats fell about 30 short of the votes they needed to put the Congressional Review Act into effect and undo the FCC's order. But that was only after the Senate, by a similar "strong bipartisan majority," as Pai would no doubt put it, voted for the rollback. No mention of that in his statement.


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  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 03 2019, @10:43PM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 03 2019, @10:43PM (#781737)

    Whether Comcast et al. Or Google et al. win this battle, Americans lose. We need a radical solution to end cable monopolies.

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  • (Score: 2) by Freeman on Friday January 04 2019, @05:15PM

    by Freeman (732) on Friday January 04 2019, @05:15PM (#782113) Journal

    I don't care, if cable companies retain their monopoly status or not. The writing is on the wall for their package deal, take it or leave it TV style. The telephone companies, especially AT&T, need to be regulated as Utility companies. It's way past time to treat them like the spoiled children they are. The tax payers have paid for a large portion of the infrastructure that's in place, and all AT&T does is hold out their hands for more money. Then again, perhaps Musk's web of satellite Internet will force AT&T and others to introduce reasonable policies. I'm not terribly optimistic, though.

    --
    Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
  • (Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Friday January 04 2019, @07:29PM

    by fustakrakich (6150) on Friday January 04 2019, @07:29PM (#782200) Journal

    We need a radical solution to end cable monopolies.

    Yeah! Like voting out the GOP/DNC!

    No, wait, that would be too radical. Better to reelect the crooks and burn tires in the streets.

    --
    La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..