5 ms·

Of course Title II isn't the only option. There's tons of other things the government could do, including writing completely new legislation - or, for that matt

Of course Title II isn't the only option. There's tons of other things the government could do, including writing completely new legislation - or, for that matter, doing absolutely nothing at all. I know many disagree, but I don't think Comcast messing with p2p downloads and a few carriers throttling Netflix speeds justifies getting the federal government involved, with all the oh-so-hilarious unintended consequences that usually come with it. The above goes double when you consider the executive branch's first instincts here - instead of crafting something specific, let's just throw Title II at it. Have you read Title II? It's horrifying! But don't worry, they'll use 'forbearance' to just not apply the horrifying parts. We can trust them, after all - who has more restraint and self-control than the federal government?

jerrac 12y ago
My Google-Fu failed me earlier. Could you link me to Title II and maybe something explaining it?
- gyardley 12y ago
  Here's the Communications Act of 1934, which contains Title II: http://transition.fcc.gov/Reports/1934new.pdf http://transition.fcc.gov/Reports/1934new.pdf Here's the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which modifies Title II: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-104publ104/pdf/PLAW-104publ104.pdf http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-104publ104/pdf/PLAW-104pub... Got to warn you, it's not light reading. I haven't been able to find something that explains Title II in a relatively neutral fashion. In short, proponents of classifying broadband as a Title II utility say "the FCC can ignore and not enforce the onerous portions not related to net neutrality", while opponents say "the FCC can ignore and not enforce the onerous portions not related to net neutrality, but there's no guarantee that they will, and that's a lot of power to hand over to the government for the indefinite future."
  - jerrac 12y ago
    Thanks. Now to find some brain power... :)

jerrac 12y ago

My Google-Fu failed me earlier. Could you link me to Title II and maybe something explaining it?

gyardley 12y ago
Here's the Communications Act of 1934, which contains Title II: http://transition.fcc.gov/Reports/1934new.pdf http://transition.fcc.gov/Reports/1934new.pdf Here's the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which modifies Title II: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-104publ104/pdf/PLAW-104publ104.pdf http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-104publ104/pdf/PLAW-104pub... Got to warn you, it's not light reading. I haven't been able to find something that explains Title II in a relatively neutral fashion. In short, proponents of classifying broadband as a Title II utility say "the FCC can ignore and not enforce the onerous portions not related to net neutrality", while opponents say "the FCC can ignore and not enforce the onerous portions not related to net neutrality, but there's no guarantee that they will, and that's a lot of power to hand over to the government for the indefinite future."
- jerrac 12y ago
  Thanks. Now to find some brain power... :)