A number of companies and civic action groups supported Internet Slowdown Day on September 10 to demonstrate what the Internet would be like without net neutrality. The public comment period for the Federal Communication Commission’s new rules for Internet Service Providers ends on September 15. The rules establish fast and slow lanes for large and small websites provoking dismay among many. (PCWorld, September 10, 2014, by Ian Paul)
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi favors granting the FCC new powers to protect net neutrality. She and some other Democrats want to classify broadband as a “telecommunications service” under Title II of the Communications Act to provide a strong base for defending net neutrality in court. A federal court struck down net neutrality rules last January then based on Title I of the law. (National Journal, September 8, 2014, by Brendan Sasso)
The ACLU also favors the reclassification. “The ACLU has long argued for the FCC to finally reclassify high-speed broadband providers like Verizon and Comcast as “common carriers,” similar to utility companies or the old phone system. Reclassification is the surest way to prevent providers from splitting the Internet into fast lanes and slow lanes. No blocking. No discrimination. No spinning wheel of death. Just the wide open Internet: a space for free speech and innovation to thrive,” writes Gabe Rottman of the American Civil Liberties Union, September 9, 2014.