Fake Net Neutrality Proposal to Get Rubber-Stamped Today

By: David Dayen

I mentioned yesterday that the FCC hearing on net neutrality would be streamed live this morning, but the drama was removed from the proceedings last night, when Michael Copps and Mignon Clyburn announced, with some reluctance, that they would support Julius Genachowski’s pretend net neutrality plan. Tim Karr was one of the first out of the gate to blast the decision.

According to all reports, the rule, which will be voted on during tomorrow’s FCC meeting, falls drastically short of earlier pledges by President Obama and the FCC Chairman to protect the free and open Internet.

The rule is so riddled with loopholes that it’s become clear that this FCC chairman crafted it with the sole purpose of winning the endorsement of AT&T and cable lobbyists, and not defending the interests of the tens of millions of Internet users.

We don’t know the full nature of the deal yet; Copps and Clyburn did negotiate with Genachowski and presumably got something for their votes. But their statements did show more regret than eagerness to embrace the rule. And Genachowski’s own statement, where he literally says “I reject both extremes” (as if it’s extreme to want content on the Internet to be treated equally), portends the expected disaster. The list of “supporters” of his rule include front groups being paid by the telecoms, and the Communication Workers of America, which has always lined up behind AT&T on net neutrality.

You just have to read the lead graf of the New York Times’ story today to know the nature of the sellout:

Check out the rest here…

~

4closureFraud.org