Biden's Internet Takeover Plan

[Poke Trainer J]

(bad source edited out)

The Biden administration has asked the FCC to take complete control of the way internet service providers do business in America. Currently governed by the private sector, the FCC would take control and establish rules and regulations to strangle the free market by deep government policies and regulations. This would include dictating broadband prices to consumers, tower and satellite locations, and expansion of services by your local internet provider. It would tightly regulate providers to the point that they would basically become an extension of the government itself.

On November 15th, the five FCC commissioners will vote to put President Biden’s plan in place.

This policy is so bad that one FCC commissioner is speaking out publicly against it. Commissioner Brendan Carr is calling the Biden administration’s “digital equity” plan for all internet services and infrastructure an “unlawful power grab.” You can read Commissioner Carr’s warning here.

In particular, Carr says, “For the first time ever, those rules would give the federal government a roving mandate to micromanage nearly every aspect of how the internet functions—from how [internet service providers] allocate capital and where they build, to the services that consumers can purchase; from the profits that ISPs can realize and how they market and advertise services to the discounts and promotions that consumers can receive.”

The text of Biden’s order expressly provides that the FCC would be empowered, for the first time, to regulate the following for every ISP:

• “network infrastructure deployment, network reliability, network upgrades, network maintenance, customer-premises equipment, and installation”
• “speeds, capacities, latency, data caps, throttling, pricing, promotional rates, imposition of late fees, opportunity for equipment rental, installation time, contract renewal terms, service termination terms, and use of customer credit and account history”
• “mandatory arbitration clauses, pricing, deposits, discounts, customer service, language options, credit checks, marketing or advertising, contract renewal, upgrades, account termination, transfers to another covered entity, and service suspension”

 

[colours]

does anyone have an unbiased source reporting on this kinda thing? i've been trying to look, but all i've been getting is conservative outlets yelling on the rooftops about the government which isn't exactly painting a full picture, here.

edit: okay, so this seems to be referring to the FCC voting on rules to combat digital discrimination. they define "digital discrimination" as the following, according to this doc by the chairwoman of the FCC:

The proposed rules would define “digital discrimination of access” as “Policies or practices, not justified by genuine issues of technical or economic feasibility, that (1) differentially impact consumers’ access to broadband internet access service based on their income level, race, ethnicity, color, religion or national origin, or (2) are intended to have such differential impact.” As the law requires, the FCC will consider on a case-by-case arguments that legitimate business impediments preclude equal access to broadband service in particular communities.

the tl;dr of all of this from my understanding is that they're voting on rules to hold the ISPs accountable on providing the absolute minimum service without the ISPs discriminating/picking and choosing where they actually have service so that even rural areas and low-income areas would be able to have access to broadband internet. someone may correct me on this, but that's my interpretation of this and it seems conservatives are blowing a gasket about this.

and according to this article by Bloomburg which has reported on this last month, seems my interpretation is correct.

The Biden administration urged the Federal Communications Commission to adopt strong rules to redress historic shortfalls that have left some communities lacking adequate broadband service.

The position sets up a possible clash with large broadband providers that have warned the FCC, which is set to produce rules by next month, against unnecessary regulations.

Clear rules are needed to close the digital divide that leaves millions without adequate broadband, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration said in a statement. The Commerce Department unit advises the president and develops internet policy.

“Strong rules are needed to remedy unequal access to internet service, no matter what the cause may be,” said Alan Davidson, the assistant secretary of commerce for communications and information, who is also the NTIA’s top official. “Rules that combat digital discrimination will bring lasting relief to vulnerable communities that historically have been left behind online.”

The FCC is considering regulations to prevent and eliminate digital discrimination of access based on income level, race and other factors, according to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.

Broadband advocates have told the agency they want deep changes that will steer spending into cities. Some urban neighborhoods have suffered from disinvestment dating back to redlining decades ago, when government-aided discriminatory lending patterns starved neighborhoods of housing resources. Many of those areas still aren’t prosperous, and haven’t seen network upgrades.

The largest US telecommunications companies in earlier filings at the FCC moved to fend off rules that might require them to build new networks in areas deemed to be digitally deprived. AT&T Inc., in a filing, warned the FCC against a “radical proposal for a new era of command-and-control regulation of a major US economic sector.” Verizon Communications Inc. said that “the commission should not commandeer providers’ investment decision-making.” USTelecom-The Broadband Association, the industry group representing scores of companies, urged regulators to refrain from “new and unnecessary regulations.”

The FCC separately is poised to consider net neutrality rules that would restore authority to regulate broadband. Those regulations would allow the FCC to require broadband providers to report and address internet outages, like the FCC does for voice service today, the agency said Thursday in a statement. The agency in September gained its first Democratic majority of the Biden administration after an earlier nominee failed to win US Senate approval.

 

[Volphied]

Thanks for providing us with an unbiased source, @colours.

@Poke Trainer J, here's some background on the source you used in your post:

American Family Association - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The American Family Association (AFA) is a conservative and Christian fundamentalist 501(c)(3) organization based in the United States. It opposes LGBT rights and expression, pornography, and abortion. It also takes a position on a variety of other public policy goals. It was founded in 1977 by Donald Wildmon as the National Federation for Decency and is headquartered in Tupelo, Mississippi.

Part of the religious right, the AFA defined itself as "a Christian organization promoting the biblical ethic of decency in American society with primary emphasis on television and other media," later switching their stated emphasis to "moral issues that impact the family." It engages in activism efforts, including boycotts, buycotts, action alert emails, publications on the AFA's web sites or in the AFA Journal, broadcasts on American Family Radio, and lobbying. The organization is accredited by the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) and posted a 2011 budget of over $16 million. AFA owns 200 American Family Radio stations in 33 states, seven affiliate stations in seven states, and one affiliate TV station (KAZQ) in New Mexico.

AFA has been listed as an anti-LGBT hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) since November 2010 for the "propagation of known falsehoods" and the use of "demonizing propaganda" against LGBT people.

 

[Ryoma Maser]

I haven't heard about this plan at all though with all the other news at the forefront, it must've been lost to me.

As far as I know, the "new" internet policy Biden and his Administration have wanted to do at least has been restoring Net Neutrality after the previous administration and its controversial FCC chair removed it despite mass protests against it.

Honestly though, as strange as this sounds; the U.S. needs an Internet "Bill of Rights" since there's so much that can be loopholes even when Net Neutrality is restored.

 

[guzmania]

Hey all, we've decided to close this thread as the only source provided for such information is classified as a hate organization with a history of spreading disinformation, and as such it does not align with the values of Bulbagarden. We value maintaining a safe, friendly environment where everyone feels comfortable, which means that the promotion of organizations such as the AFA simply cannot be allowed.

If you have any further questions about this decision, feel free to send a message to me or another staff member.

Have a good day, everyone!