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Thursday, January 25, 2018

Who is Ajit Pai and why should you question his intentions and possibly despise his seeming biases? [UPDATED]

An earlier Crabgrass post in a closing UPDATE noted:

Think of the question in terms of how cable companies bundle. Some base service items you may want, others no, and pay extra for something you really want.

Think of it as getting Pat Robertson's Search in the base bundle; Microsoft Bing added in the Silver package; DuckDuckGo in the gold; and Google Search if you buy the platinum package. Is that in your best interests? You should wonder, why is your government doing this to you. The obvious answer, it's the money players' government, not yours, has its troubling aspects.

"Pat Robertson Search" is fearful to even contemplate as a bundled "you got it" thing, but the actual local cable bundle has his 700 Club bundled, so do not scoff as if something is an impossibility.

Apparently what the game is about is that Pat Robertson's enterprise pays the put-it-in-the-bundle fee and gets the access; without much viewing, obviously. Somebody, somewhere must watch that, (why being the clear question).

That said:

Know who Ajit Pai is, and do not scoff at suggestions of possible non-neutral net evolution. Instead read two items; here and here.

Postulated skullduggery can become tomorrow's reality unless we fight the net neutrality, from local grassroots upward to our legislature and governor's office. Fight now and aggressively.

The second linked item two paragraphs above includes this frightening mid-item "imagine this" image:

click to view full size - original image online here

Who would ever want that?

Besides Verizon and cohorts.You know that image presents the real and present Verizon cable marketing model. If all the internet means to Verizon is having another cash cow, they will milk it dry.

Fight fiercely against your web experience being shoehorned into any such dark, forlorn, unfortunate blackhole. With that image in mind, the Montana Governor's Template for other state executive order use certainly looks top notch. No fight, no hope.

UPDATE: This link.

FURTHER: NY Times [a prominent web content provider, paywall and all] has good coverage; e.g., start here, here and here, and pay attention to links to other NYT coverage at the foot of each post. Worth quoting, this item of the three states in part:

These are the rules that were repealed

The original rules went into effect in 2015 and laid out a regulatory plan that addressed a rapidly changing internet. Under those regulations, broadband service was considered a utility under Title II of the Communications Act, giving the F.C.C. broad power over internet providers. The rules prohibited the following practices:

BLOCKING Internet service providers could not discriminate against any lawful content by blocking websites or apps.

THROTTLING Service providers could not slow the transmission of data based on the nature of the content, as long as it is legal.

PAID PRIORITIZATION Service providers could not create an internet fast lane for companies and consumers who pay premiums, and a slow lane for those who don’t.
Continue reading the main story
How it could affect you

Many consumer advocates have argued that if the rules get scrapped, broadband providers will begin selling the internet in bundles, not unlike how cable television is sold today. Want to access Facebook and Twitter? Under a bundling system, getting on those sites could require paying for a premium social media package.

In some countries, internet bundling is already happening. In October, Representative Ro Khanna, Democrat of California, posted a screenshot on Twitter from a Portuguese mobile carrier that showed subscription plans with names like Social, Messaging and Video. He wrote that providers were “starting to split the net.”

In Portugal, with no net neutrality, internet providers are starting to split the net into packages. pic.twitter.com/TlLYGezmv6
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) Oct. 27, 2017

Links in the quote are from the original NYT item. Here is the image that Rep. Khanna posted; real, ugly, and prescient of what citizens of the U.S. of A. are facing from fascists' forces who already have moved but need to be stymied with their changes retrenched to an earlier, better status quo:

click the image to enlarge, read, and shudder in fear