#fast lanes

R.I.P. Open Internet and Consumer Protection

#ISP #BrokenPromises  #GOPSwamp  #TrumpSWAMP

None of the ISPs we contacted will make a commitment — or even a comment — on paid fast lanes and prioritization.

And this is really where we expect to see problems: ISPs likely won’t go out and block large swaths of the web, but they may start to give subtle advantages to their own content and the content of their partners, slowly shaping who wins and loses online.

With that in mind, here’s what we know about some of the biggest internet providers’ plans for a world without net neutrality

Learn about your Broadband Provider:

COMCAST 

AT&T 

VERIZON 

T-MOBILE 

SPRINT 

CHARTER (SPECTRUM) 

COX 

ALTICE USA (OPTIMUM AND SUDDENLINK) 

ISP’s have a History of Censorship when there was NO Net Neutrality

Today we must all come together for #netneutrality so we can keep the Internet open. #SaveNetNeutrality means saving free speech.

— @ACLUAlabama

The FCC has NO rules against paid fast lanes!

Grab your wallet. NOT ONE PENNY MORE!

Comcast now vaguely says that it won't "discriminate against lawful content" or impose "anti-competitive paid prioritization." The change in wording suggests that Comcast may offer paid fast lanes to websites or other online services, such as video streaming providers, after Pai's FCC eliminates the net neutrality rules

We contacted Comcast today to ask how it defines "anti-competitive paid prioritization." A spokesperson did not answer that question but referred us back to previous Comcast statements on the topic.

Based on the tax cuts, Republicans will fast-track and RAM it down American throats no matter what the majority wants.

GOP:  Choice means Pay to Play  #CronyCapitalism

According to an Associated Press review of seven of the country’s biggest telecom providers, ZERO were willing to “rule out the possibility” of establishing fast or slow lanes for various streams of content. 

Three providers—Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile—declined to specifically say they would not block or censor content in the future.

Of course, trying to plumb these statements for actual commitments is a fool’s errand, since ISPs have 

a long history of lying

throttling applications they claim consume too much bandwidth, or blocking competitors and things like BitTorrent.

While ISPs trying to force their users back into AOL-style walled gardens is probably not going to happen, consumers should be prepared for telecoms to renege on their promises of self-regulation as soon as it’s convenient.

“But hey, these guys didn’t run most of their competition out of the business by playing nice.”

For years, Comcast has been promising that it won't violate the principles of net neutrality, regardless of whether the government imposes any net neutrality rules. That meant that Comcast wouldn't block or throttle lawful Internet traffic and that it wouldn't create fast lanes.

But with Republican Ajit Pai now in charge at the Federal Communications Commission, Comcast's stance has changed.

Instead, Comcast now vaguely says that it won't "discriminate against lawful content" or impose "anti-competitive paid prioritization." The change in wording suggests that Comcast may offer paid fast lanes to websites or other online services, such as video streaming providers, after Pai's FCC eliminates the net neutrality rules next month.