FCC Gives Government Power to Regulate Web Traffic

Wall Street Journal ^ | Amy Schatz

[TheRevolution1776]

"For the first time, we'll have enforceable rules of the road to preserve Internet freedom and openness," FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said Tuesday morning. He said the rules offered "a strong and sensible framework—one that protects Internet freedom and openness and promotes robust innovation and investment."

Republicans at the FCC and on Capitol Hill blasted the FCC's new rules, saying that they could stifle new investments in broadband networks and are unnecessary since there have been few complaints about Internet providers blocking or slowing web traffic.

The FCC's action "is not motivated by a tangible competitive harm or market failure," said Commissioner Meredith Attwell Baker, a Republican, who said she couldn't support the rule because the agency was intervening to regulate the Internet "because it wants to, not because it needs to."

[TheRevolution1776]

I don't know if this is good or bad in the sense of what the rules now do. However, my biggest gripe with this is how it all came about. The FCC decided on it's own, after two decisions not too, to give powers to the government. Congress said no, the courts said no and they said to hell with it. This is my gripe, this is the erosion of the entire system that our founders established. I could care less right now what the rules entail, I am simply concerned with their blatant disregard of the system. Where is the FCC's Constitutional powers anyways ? All the powers given are to the Congress, Presidential office, Judicial and what's left to the states and the people ? I draw my line here. I say no further is this uncle going to go. Enough already. 1776, remember it.

[TruthHound]

Will. Not. Stand.

Supremes shot this down once and will again.

[se_ohio_young_conservative]

Heads are going to roll over this.

Keep pushing us you jackasses. Karma is going to bite you hard.

[Jim Robinson]

FCC gives government power? Like HELL you say!! Government derives its just powers from the consent of the governed!!

There will be a day of reckoning!!

[ohioWfan]

They apparently think they didn't lose badly enough in November.

Looking for annihilation in 2012. Can't think of a better way to make that happen than to try to silence free speech on the Internet.

[cripplecreek]

Kinda like the federal reserve telling a bank they can’t display Christmas decorations.

[Sopater]

FCC Gives Government Power to Regulate Web Traffic

How can anyone give away something that's not theirs to give?

[Realman30]

My concern is whether or not this will cause my bill to go down or up?

More than likely, the latter.

[Sopater]

Government derives its just powers from the consent of the governed!!

That's what I thought. Are we no longer in America?

[Safrguns]

Whooooahhhhh!..... wait just a damn minute here!...

FCC gives Government the right????

Now it’s Government by the FCC?

Even liberals should understand the idiocy of this.

FCC was established and empowered BY the government!

Now the FCC gives power to the government?

Who the hell said this anyway?

[TheRevolution1776]

At this point it is safe to argue that law is simply words on paper and we may need to abolish this current system.

[lurk]

Hey new Congress, you hear that?

There’s a snotty regulatory agency that thinks your business is their business.

Sounds to me, in this age of trillion dollar deficits, like they could stand to be downsized.

The FCC, with 10 employees, could easily move their department into a couple of Winnebagos in the parking lot of the Smithsonian.

[DBrow]

“Looking for annihilation in 2012.”

Assuming we can still use the web for political purposes then, yes, annihilation.

[Prokopton]

My concern is whether or not this will cause my bill to go down or up?

Don't be concerned. The Central Government will subsidize your bill, it won't cost you a dime. Of course you will only be able to go to sites approved by the government, but this is not one of your concerns.

[ChiMark]

Reeducation camps are coming and if there were a Senate vote at least 11 RINO’s would agree.

[ChiMark]

Reeducation camps are coming and if there were a Senate vote at least 11 RINO’s would agree.

[Fishtalk]

Okay so I read this thing and like y’all, I’m wary.

At it’s least dangerous, this thing is the work of some business or other that wants to be able to transmit wireless data with NO interference from the Internet providers. Seems some Internet providers, Comcast is listed as one, will deliberately slow down data transmission in some cases. In the example provided in the article is was transmitting data from peer-to-peer files. Like If I wanted to send all my files over the Internet to you. The Internet provider deliberately slowed down these kinds of transmissions to better allow for other web/email users faster access that these bulky transmissions were slowing down.

But as is pointed out over and over, it really isn’t that big of a problem so I’m not buying that this is why the FCC wants its hands on our wireless transmitted data.

The bigger thing here, damn I must be dreaming, but I could swear we that this is an agency of the government voting that the government, in the form of this agency of course, has the right to regulate this kind of stuff.

It’s like I’m part of a human relations committee appointed by my company to study pay rates and benefits for a this same company. One day, boom, this committee votes that we can now, BOOM, hire and fire people.

Heh.

You can’t make this stuff up.

Next, the FCC will vote themselves the power to implement the death penalty, well why the hell not?

[Cheerio]

FCC gives government power? Like HELL you say!! Government derives its just powers from the consent of the governed!! There will be a day of reckoning!!

There has to be more than just email writing and calling Congress, AND SOON.

[Tzimisce]

The people have proven they can’t be trusted with Free Speech.

So we will take it from you.

Now pay your taxes, we need raises.

[Lil Flower]

Unfortunately that is no longer true. We have rulers who govern by fiat. My only question is when are we going to wrest the power from them and back where it belongs.