I understand that the Republican Party has been dubbed "the party of stupid"
for the past several years. But just how stupid are they?
"As the FCC prepares to rightfully restore internet freedom with Title I
internet rules, it's good to know that these powerful commissions are working
together to protect consumers from any unfair or anticompetitive practices,"
they said. "The FTC has successfully provided those essential protections for
decades, and we are confident they will continue to do so. Today's announcement
from the FTC and FCC is a positive move for consumers and the internet
ecosystem," said Walden, Blackburn, and Latta."
Wake up, genius. Where do you see anything about "working together to protect
consumers from any unfair or anticompetitive practices"? Show me!
On the contrary, all you see is that less than a handful of special interests
only need to INFORM US of their anti-competitive practices. And having done so,
they are free and clear. This Chairman calls such anti-competitive practices
"innovative."
Is it even possible that every Republican in Congress is equally dumbass?
Courts, do the right thing. Chairman, please do step down.
Bert
-------------------------------------------
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/washington/fcc-ftc-net-neutrality-mou-gets-panned-praised/170587
Dec 11, 2017 04:46 PM ET
FCC, FTC 'Net Neutrality MOU Gets Panned, Praised
Position varies with political affiliation
By John Eggerton
There were mixed reactions in Washington to the announced internet openness
enforcement memorandum of understanding between the FCC and the Federal Trade
Commission, depending on which side of the aisle it was coming from.
"This Memorandum of Understanding is cold comfort to consumers if the FCC moves
forward with its scheduled net neutrality vote," said Democratic FCC
Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, who will be voting against the Dec. 14 ISP
reclassification and rule rollback that prompted the MOU. "The FTC's authority
in this matter is in question and an MOU does nothing to answer those concerns.
Moreover, the MOU is no substitute for the FCC's rules when it comes to
preventing blocking, throttling, and discrimination online. Plus, FTC
enforcement would happen long after the fact-many months, if not years, after
consumers and businesses have been harmed. This is why the FCC must not
relinquish its authority and, more importantly, its responsibility, to the
public interest."
"The agreement announced today between the FCC and FTC is a confusing,
lackluster, reactionary afterthought: an attempt to paper over weaknesses in
the Chairman's draft proposal repealing the FCC's 2015 net neutrality rules,"
said Commissioner Mignon Clyburn.
Ditto Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.). "Today's agreement between the FCC and FTC
underscores the absurdity of Chairman Pai's proposal to eliminate net
neutrality and his plan to abandon the FCC's statutory responsibilities as the
expert agency overseeing our communications networks," said the congressman.
"Chairman Pai's plan not only leaves consumers fending for themselves, it is
now creating a bureaucratic nightmare with no one left in charge when things
inevitably go wrong. And by acting before the Ninth Circuit decides whether the
FTC has any authority over broadband providers, this MOU is effectively
worthless."
The Ninth Circuit is considering a lower court decision that an edge provider
owned by a common carrier--say Yahoo! and Verizon--means the FTC is prevented
from enforcing privacy protections over that edge provider because it is
prevented from regulating common carriers.
On the other side of that aisle, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
Greg Walden (R-Ore.), joined by Communications Subcommittee Chairman Marsha
Blackburn (R-Tenn.), and Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection Subcommittee
Chairman Bob Latta (R-Ohio) signaled they were comforted that the two agencies
were on the job.
"As the FCC prepares to rightfully restore internet freedom with Title I
internet rules, it's good to know that these powerful commissions are working
together to protect consumers from any unfair or anticompetitive practices,"
they said. "The FTC has successfully provided those essential protections for
decades, and we are confident they will continue to do so. Today's announcement
from the FTC and FCC is a positive move for consumers and the internet
ecosystem," said Walden, Blackburn, and Latta."
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