br00t4c (@br00t4c@mastodon.social)

514K Posts, 3.16K Following, 3.01K Followers · More machine than man at this point. 24/7/365 stream of news and vitriol from a mostly leftist/progressive perspective. News feed is algorithmic. Commentary is me. I *try* to answer in a timely manner...

The Frightening Stakes of this Halloween’s Net Neutrality Hearing

The future of the open internet is in danger this October 31st, not from ghosts and goblins, but from the broadband companies that control internet access in most of the United States. These companies would love to use their oligopoly power to...

Victory! FCC Closes Loopholes and Restores Net Neutrality

Thanks to weeks of the public speaking up and taking action the FCC has recognized the flaw in their proposed net neutrality rules. The FCC’s final adopted order on net neutrality restores bright line rules against all forms of throttling, once...

Internet Service Providers Plan to Subvert Net Neutrality. Don’t Let Them

In the absence of strong net neutrality protections, internet service providers (ISPs) have made all sorts of plans that would allow them to capitalize on something called "network slicing." While this technology has all sorts of promise, what the...

Tell the FCC It Must Clarify Its Rules to Prevent Loopholes That Will Swallow Net Neutrality Whole

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has released draft rules to reinstate net neutrality, with a vote on adopting the rules to come on the 25th of April. The FCC needs to close some loopholes in the draft rules before then. Proposed Rules...

The FCC Expected to Propose the The FCC is Expected to Propose the Return of Net Neutrality Protections Oct 19th - Let’s Hope They Get it Right!

Network neutrality is the idea that internet service providers (ISPs) should treat all data that travels over their networks fairly, without discrimination in favor of particular apps, sites or services. It is a principle that must be upheld to...

The FCC is Expected to Propose the Return of Net Neutrality Protections Oct 19th - Let’s Hope They Get it Right!

Network neutrality is the idea that internet service providers (ISPs) should treat all data that travels over their networks fairly, without discrimination in favor of particular apps, sites or services. It is a principle that must be upheld to...

To Save the News, We Need an End-to-End Web

This is part five of an ongoing, five-part series. Part one, the introduction, is here. Part two, about breaking up ad-tech companies, is here. Part three, about banning surveillance ads, is here. Part four, about opening up app stores, is...

“The Era Of Distributed, Independent Email Servers Is Over”

Imagine the Internet had begun its life as a proprietary network from a major software vendor rather than evolved as a distributed network shared by researchers. It’s a future that almost cam…

We Finally Have a Federal Fiber Broadband Plan

There is a lot to appreciate in the recently published “Notice of Funding Opportunity” (NOFO) by the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA). It is arguably the first federal government proposal that...

Net Neutrality Still Matters

In October 2021, Pres. Joe Biden nominated Gigi Sohn to fill the vacant seat on the Federal Communications Commission, thus giving Democrats control over

Senate Commerce Committee is Letting Big Telecom Hamstring the FCC

Six months have passed since the Biden Administration signed an Executive Order to restore Net Neutrality at the FCC. And three months have passed since the President nominated net neutrality champion Gigi Sohn, a member of the EFF board, to the...

Federal Appeals Court Upholds California’s Net Neutrality Rules

The ruling prevents internet providers in the state from abandoning net neutrality for broadband customers.

Big Win for Open Internet as Court Upholds California Net Neutrality Law

"Eat shit, AT&T!" said the director of digital rights group Fight for the Future.

Courts (Again) Shoot Down Telecom Lobby's Attempt To Kill State-Level Net Neutrality Rules

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has put a final bullet in the telecom industry's attempt to kill state-level net neutrality laws. The ruling (pdf) again makes it clear that the Trump FCC's 2017 repeal of net neutrality didn't follow...

California Prevails on Net Neutrality Rules

The Ninth Circuit ruled in favor of California over the large national internet service providers (ISPs), paving the way for California’s gold standard state net neutrality law to go forward. Throughout the long battle on net neutrality, from Ajit...

Appeals court upholds California’s net neutrality law

The law was signed in 2018 but blocked from taking effect

Rosenworcel Stands Firm on Net Neutrality in Face of Lawmakers Urging Status Quo

The FCC chairwoman responded to a letter by members of Congress resisting calls to back down on net neutrality.