back to article Big Telco takes aim at renewed net neutrality rules

Telecom industry organizations have petitioned the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to halt its order to restore net neutrality. The petition [PDF] was penned by lawyers from a variety of telecom lobbying groups, who represent telecom companies across the country including AT&T, Verizon, and Comcast. While the petition …

  1. Eclectic Man Silver badge

    Information vs telecommunications service

    "The reasoning is that reclassifying the legal status of broadband firms from an information service to a telecommunications service (the thing that makes net neutrality possible) is so extreme that the FCC must justify its newfound authority with the approval of Congress."

    I wonder whether the consequences of being an 'information service' would include responsibility for the information provided by the service, which might include having to delete illegal data, whereas, at least so far, the ISPs and organisation like FaceBook have claimed that the people posting are solely responsible for the content, and that they cannot be required to police content.

    Register 'Legal Beagles', please advise.

    1. doublelayer Silver badge

      Re: Information vs telecommunications service

      This is unrelated to companies like Facebook. It only covers ISPs, and those don't have liability for the content they transfer due to common carrier legislation. Facebook and companies like them are protected by section 230, so they're not affected either. This change will not alter the situation you describe.

  2. David 132 Silver badge

    Special pleading. Jog on, telcos.

    FTFA “…the Commission has once again claimed all-encompassing authority to regulate how Americans access the Internet…”

    Or to rephrase in a less emotionally-manipulative way, “the Commission is asserting authority to regulate how telcos control and throttle how Americans access the internet”

    I didn’t have any time for their whining last time round and I have even less now. Bunch of shameless Reacher Gilts, the lot of ‘em.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    It's not really clear to me why it's taken over 3 years for the Biden administration to do this. Then again, they've squandered much of their period in office pandering to the far left, which is why his re-election is in the toilet.

    1. Throatwarbler Mangrove Silver badge
      IT Angle

      "pandering to the far left"

      What the literal fuck are you talking about? The far left hates Biden with a fiery passion since he hasn't waved his magic wand and made all injustice everywhere go away overnight. Biden is very much a centrist, and only the fact that the Overton window has slid so far right that actual fascism is on the table makes him appear significantly liberal.

      1. DanielsLateToTheParty
        Thumb Up

        +1 for teaching me the phrase Overton Window. Please, have one in return.

        "Tsundoku is the act of buying books and not reading them."

        1. Throatwarbler Mangrove Silver badge
          Headmaster

          "Tsundoku" is great. I certainly have no idea what that's like. *Glances guiltily at giant pile of unread books*

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        At this level of clueless you should join his sinking campaign. They have the same group think.

    2. DS999 Silver badge

      Because of republican stonewalling the FCC didn't get a democratic majority (that they were supposed to get when Biden took office) until last fall, so it wasn't possible for the FCC to do anything that didn't have bipartisan agreement before that time.

  4. Agamemnon

    Pleaaaaaaaase, don't actually regulate us again. Please? We like all the free money we did nothing to earn. We like fleecing consumers, and Tax Payers. Double Dipping gets us our jollies, and, Free Money.

    Please don't regulate us again.

    Burn In Hell Assholes.

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