Upcoming Events

International | Miscellaneous

no events match your query!

New Events

International

no events posted in last week

Blog Feeds

Public Inquiry
Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005

offsite link RTEs Sarah McInerney ? Fianna Fail supporter? Anthony

offsite link Joe Duffy is dishonest and untrustworthy Anthony

offsite link Robert Watt complaint: Time for decision by SIPO Anthony

offsite link RTE in breach of its own editorial principles Anthony

offsite link Waiting for SIPO Anthony

Public Inquiry >>

Human Rights in Ireland
A Blog About Human Rights

offsite link UN human rights chief calls for priority action ahead of climate summit Sat Oct 30, 2021 17:18 | Human Rights

offsite link 5 Year Anniversary Of Kem Ley?s Death Sun Jul 11, 2021 12:34 | Human Rights

offsite link Poor Living Conditions for Migrants in Southern Italy Mon Jan 18, 2021 10:14 | Human Rights

offsite link Right to Water Mon Aug 03, 2020 19:13 | Human Rights

offsite link Human Rights Fri Mar 20, 2020 16:33 | Human Rights

Human Rights in Ireland >>

Lockdown Skeptics

The Daily Sceptic

offsite link Record Ozone ?Holes? Reported Despite 35-Year CFC Ban Thu Mar 28, 2024 07:00 | Chris Morrison
The ozone hole scare of the 1980s and the banning of CFCs was the template for the subsequent alarm promoting Net Zero. Yet the ozone hole is now back as large as ever, even after a 35-year CFC ban.
The post Record Ozone “Holes” Reported Despite 35-Year CFC Ban appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link News Round-Up Thu Mar 28, 2024 00:50 | Richard Eldred
A summary of the most interesting stories in the past 24 hours that challenge the prevailing orthodoxy about the virus and the vaccines, the ?climate emergency? and the supposed moral defects of Western civilisation.
The post News Round-Up appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Heart Scarring Detected Over One Year After COVID-19 Vaccination, Two New Studies Find Wed Mar 27, 2024 19:30 | Will Jones
Heart scarring was detected more than one year after COVID-19 vaccination in some people who suffered myocarditis following receipt of a shot, researchers reported in new studies.
The post Heart Scarring Detected Over One Year After COVID-19 Vaccination, Two New Studies Find appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Harvard?s Latest Act of Shame Wed Mar 27, 2024 17:42 | Dr Peter Gøtzsche and Janus Bang
With the firing of Prof. Martin Kulldorff for having the temerity to be proven right in his scepticism of Government Covid measures, Harvard really shows it has lost its way, say Dr. Peter Gøtzsche and Janus Bang.
The post Harvard’s Latest Act of Shame appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Drivers Slam Oxford Council?s Plan to Charge SUVs and Large Vehicles More for Parking in the City Wed Mar 27, 2024 15:20 | Will Jones
Drivers have slammed "bizarre" and "grossly unfair" plans by Green Party councillors to charge SUV and large vehicle owners more to park in Oxford.
The post Drivers Slam Oxford Council’s Plan to Charge SUVs and Large Vehicles More for Parking in the City appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Lockdown Skeptics >>

Voltaire Network
Voltaire, international edition

offsite link Moscow attack reminds us of the links between Islamists and Kiev's fundamentalis... Tue Mar 26, 2024 06:57 | en

offsite link Failure to assist a people in danger of genocide, by Hassan Hamadé Tue Mar 26, 2024 06:32 | en

offsite link Yugoslavia March 24, 1999 The Founding War of the New Nato, by Manlio Dinucci Sun Mar 24, 2024 05:15 | en

offsite link France opposes Russian Korean-style peace project in Ukraine Sat Mar 23, 2024 11:11 | en

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N°79 Fri Mar 22, 2024 11:40 | en

Voltaire Network >>

US court deals heavy blow against Web freedom

category international | miscellaneous | news report author Tuesday January 14, 2014 21:32author by newsmedia Report this post to the editors

Greedy ISPs move to cash in on providing tiered Internet access
Judges at a federal appeal court in Washington have dealt what could well be a mortal blow to the freedom of the Internet.

Three judges sitting at the court rejected the Federal Communications Commission's Open Internet Order appeal on the grounds that its Net Neutrality was founded on 'questionable legal framework' when the agency adopted its Net Neutrality rules in 2010.

Net neutrality was part of President Barack Obama's campaign platform in 2008. The FCC and its backers said allowing Internet providers to charge content companies more for faster service could threaten future innovation by making it harder for startups and others without deep pockets to reach consumers effectively

The ruling means that ight now there is no one protecting Internet users from ISPs that block or discriminate against websites, applications or services. Major Internet service supply companies such as Verizon. At&T and Comcast will now be able to block or slow down any website, application or service they like and be able to create tiered pricing structures with fast lanes for those who can afford the tolls and slow lanes for everyone else.

The court also threw out an FCC rule that barred providers from blocking Internet traffic outright.

Verizon wants the ability to charge content companies for faster connections with their end users. The ruling could cause headaches for companies like Netflix Inc., which doesn't want to pay broadband providers extra to deliver its popular movie-streaming service to consumers.

Two of the three judges suggested the FCC might have some room to revive its rules with certain modifications. One possibility would be to classify broadband Internet as a telecommunications service, the designation that has long applied to regular telephone service.

The decision by the court brought immediate responses by action groups freepress.net and RootsAction.Org which have both launched petitions to defende Internet freedoms.

The FCC's "open Internet" rules, often referred to as net-neutrality rules, were passed in 2010 and designed to ensure Internet service providers treated similar content on their broadband pipes equally. Verizon Communications Inc. sued to block the rules, saying the FCC lacked the authority to impose them.

A statement released by Media watchdog and advocacy agency Free Press President and CEO Craig Aaron said: "We’re disappointed that the court came to this conclusion. Its ruling means that Internet users will be pitted against the biggest phone and cable companies — and in the absence of any oversight, these companies can now block and discriminate against their customers’ communications at will.

"The compromised Open Internet Order struck down today left much to be desired, but it was a step toward maintaining Internet users’ freedom to go where they wanted, when they wanted, and communicate freely online. Now, just as Verizon promised it would in court, the biggest broadband providers will race to turn the open and vibrant Web into something that looks like cable TV. They’ll establish fast lanes for the few giant companies that can afford to pay exorbitant tolls and reserve the slow lanes for everyone else.

"The FCC — under the leadership of former Chairman Julius Genachowski — made a grave mistake when it failed to ground its open Internet rules on solid legal footing. Internet users will pay dearly for the previous chairman’s lack of political will. That’s why we need to fix the problems the agency could have avoided in the first place.

"New FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler recently stated that the FCC must have the ability to protect broadband users and preserve the Internet’s fundamental open architecture. In order to do that, he must act quickly to restore reassert the FCC’s clear authority over our nation’s communications infrastructure. The agency must follow its statutory mandate to make broadband communications networks open, accessible, reliable and affordable for everyone.

"We look forward to working with Chairman Wheeler and the rest of the Commission to protect and preserve real Net Neutrality."

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has voiced opposition to regulating broadband Internet providers like phone companies once were, and many Republicans and others in Washington criticize the idea as an example of excessive federal regulation.

Mr. Wheeler, a supporter of net neutrality, recently argued he has the power to police Internet service providers on an individual basis if their behavior is anticompetitive or prevents consumers from accessing the Web.

Reacting to the ruling, Mr. Wheeler said the FCC would consider appealing to the Supreme Court. "I am committed to maintaining our networks as engines for economic growth, test beds for innovative services and products, and channels for all forms of speech," he said.

Related Link: http://www.newsmedianews.com/headlines.php?subaction=showfull&id=1389731762&ucat=3&template=news&
author by Tpublication date Wed Jan 15, 2014 20:40author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Firstly, it is good that there will be an appeal to this awful ruling, but should it stick and given the climate of corporate control of society, it may, then this ruling would allow ISPs and Telecos to effectively price out of existence alternative and independent sites such as Indymedia, but more importantly many of the thousands of blogs and other independent news sites that don't have the big budgets. The way it would work is that they would impose costs for downloads from a site, so the more traffic it got, the more its costs would go up and it would be a self limiting thing for sites run on little or no costs and often run by volunteers or personnel effort.

It could easily effect the way search engines do their job too, because the incentive would quickly change so that it is only cost effective to properly index the big commercial sites.

In many ways this parallels the development of radio. In the early days of radio, if you wanted one, you bought a kit and assembled it yourself, but it also meant the early days of radio were full of enthusiasts and it was very open and all sorts of people were transmitting all kinds of things. Apparently there was a real buzz with it. Then state control stepped in and said you need a license to transmit. That effectively killed it. The difference here is that loss of Net Neutrality means you will find it hard to get any traffic to or from your site without some kind of commercial backing and given commercialism is by its nature part of the corporate controlled right wing capitalist system, then that kills off nearly everything else

author by Krummipublication date Wed Feb 05, 2014 13:09author address author phone Report this post to the editors

It was kind of inevitable that the internet would be curtailed at some stage , despite it's substantial dark side it's given access to information and international communication on a previously unseen scale. I'm not sure if it was an experiment that got out of hand by the powers that be but it's definitely created some issues for them and opened doors that can't be closed. I know a lot of posters on this site seem to be pretty left brained ( no offense ) but it's probably time we stepped it up a gear and evolved ourselves instead of being reliant on technology.

 
© 2001-2024 Independent Media Centre Ireland. Unless otherwise stated by the author, all content is free for non-commercial reuse, reprint, and rebroadcast, on the net and elsewhere. Opinions are those of the contributors and are not necessarily endorsed by Independent Media Centre Ireland. Disclaimer | Privacy