Save Net Neutrality!

Sitterson 011 Monday, Dec 4 18:00

The head of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Ajit Pai used to be a lawyer for Verizon and now he is making key decisions about the future of the Internet! Join one of the nation-wide protests outside a Verizon store. One is happening on Thurs Dec 7 at the store between Durham and Chapel Hill on 15-501! http://verizonprotests.com/

Two years ago, FCC classified the Internet as a Title II service, categorizing it as a public service like electricity or water. This primarily ensured:

• No Blocking: Internet Service Providers (ISP) may not block access to legal content
• No Throttling: ISPs may not impair or degrade lawful Internet traffic
• No Paid Prioritization: ISPs may not throttle websites because they haven’t paid a fee.

The head of the FCC, Ajit Pai, has proposed eliminating these protections and giving all regulatory powers to ISPs.

Join us on Monday to learn a brief history, how this affects you and what you can do about it.

If you can’t join us here are some resources and extra information:

This proposal will be brought up at the FCC December open meeting on December 14th. 3 out of 5 FCC Members are required to pass this. 2 are expected to vote against, and 3 for. Michael O’Rielley has voted against similar proposals in the past, but he seems more persuadable than Ajit Pai or Brendon Carr. Read about Michael O’Reilley here. https://www.fcc.gov/about/leadership/mike-orielly?qt-leadership_tabs=0#qt-leadership_tabs

Official Title II reclassification in 2015: https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-332260A1.pdf

Official Docket for the FCC December Meeting https://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2017/db1122/DOC-347927A1.pdf

More information on Internet Infrastructure: http://web.stanford.edu/class/msande91si/www-spr04/readings/week1/Howstuffworks.htm