I've been saying for a while that net neutrality or
so-called open Internet versus closed internet issues
are absolutely paramount to so much of what is going to happen in the political
system going forward the Internet has been one of the biggest
equalizers when it comes to you the dissemination of information and
alternative views
and much of the discussion around net neutrality relates to whether or not
internet service provider should be considered so-called common carriers
similar to telephone companies
and therefore are open to be regulated in the same way
of course the internet service providers themselves argue that they should not be
classified
as common carriers Mozilla thinks that
it may have found a way to ensure
network neutrality without annette a requirement to go back and reclassify
broadband carriers
as common carriers Mozilla filed a petition with the FCC this week
which ask the FCC to recognize that
in addition to the relationship that exists between the Internet Service
Provider
and the end-user you sitting at home
watching Netflix or whatever the case maybe that's one relationship
that is being discussed quite a bit when it comes to issues have net neutrality
that there is a separate relationship between the Internet Service Provider
and that I entity that is
providing or hosting the data video
for information and that that relationship
can actually be regulated under the 1996 Telecommunications Act instead of saying
that the Internet Service Provider simply has a
duty to deliver all packets have data
over its pipes for lack of a better term to the consumer without discrimination
mozilla is saying that there is another legal obligation which is that the ISP
all those to content providers to deliver their packets
in a neutral manner this may seem like a small
nuance for detail Louis but this is huge because it would actually allow the FCC
to do whatever it wants
on the consumer side which of course we're still concerned with
but without ISP's is common carriers based
on the 1996 Telecommunications Act would have to treat
the provider data without discrimination
I'm Louis am i doing a clear enough job
%uh explaining what this fundamental differences here do you get what I'm
saying
I do I think it makes sense and I think this is
massively important I if if it's a shame
that it needs to come down to be the best he's tiny
yeah legal details but that this is very very important I hope this goes to
because I think we're a long way
away from actor Lee labeling an
he's ISP's as Dom already called as common carriers you're a better dig up
hill battle
to put it another way the distinction that Mozilla is making is that
instead of only having a duty to the end-user be it a residential user
a business user whatever once a content providers traffic
hits the ISP's network the ISP
has a duty to deliver the content providers traffic
in a neutral manner I think that this is an absolutely great point here
this would have course if it is determined
to be a actionable by the FCC in by the judiciary
there are going to be adjusted there's going to be a de Lucia
lawsuit over this of course ISP's which
presumably exist to allow the transfer and data oh wait no actually
they exist just as profit centers we should have learned that by now
they're good they're going to sue and this could lead to a decade-long legal
battle but at least Mozilla
is thinking proactively here about what is
already in the law that might
further reinforce a free and open Internet which i think is important
Louis because as you said
to create new law around this law has the the
laws have lagged behind when it comes to internet usage
for so long if we can find an existing legal basis to protect an open Internet
we can't even measure the positive affective that I mean it's just huge
it might be one of the most important things base in this country the little
people are gonna win this when David
I you takes a big corporation to be another big corporation we need the most
ill is the Google's and Apple's behind us on this one to win this battle
probably worth mentioning just for context Louis that Tom wheeler
is the former head above the cable lobby a cable lobbyist is now running the FCC
money in politics never forget that that's always there
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