Net Neutrality Vote: Twitter Users As Divided As FCC

On Tuesday, the FCC voted to adopt a framework that aims to preserve an "open Internet" by prohibiting Internet service providers from discriminating in how they handle information traveling over their networks.

"The rules," according to the AP, "require broadband providers to let subscribers access all legal online content, applications and services over their wired networks -- including online calling services, Internet video and other Web applications that compete with their core businesses."

Although the measure passed, the Commission was far from united in its decision. All three Democrats voted "yes," but FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski's two Republican colleagues took issue with the net neutrality rules.

Twitter users are also sounding off and taking sides over the FCC's net neutrality plan. Take a look through the slideshow (below) to see tweeters' reactions to Tuesday's vote. What are your thoughts about the net neutrality rules? Do they favor consumers or service providers? Do they go too far or not far enough? Let us know in the comments below.

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James Pethokoukis

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James Pethokoukis

Net neutrality rules a blow to free markets http://reut.rs/dFhOUT (from my blog at Reuters)

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[Michael Allen Powers]

09:31 PM on 12/26/2010

Someone once thought, "Hey, what if everyone had the sum total of human knowledge at their fingertips?". Such was the intent and spirit of the Internet. Letting corporations decide who gets what content, based on economic status violates that intent.

Big business has no right to make money from our every thought, our every action. It represents the worst abuses of capitalism and the free market.

Is Internet access a right? It damn well should be. Because information is power. That power can be in the hands of big business, or the government (pretty much one in the same nowadays), or it can be in the hands of the people.

The choice is an important one.

[Shaun Dawson]

07:35 PM on 12/26/2010

Net neutrality is a complicated subject and I will not even pretend to understand all the implications and ramifications implied in the recent FCC rules. But what I do understand is there should be an element of fairness in allowing all (legal) content providers equal access to all markets controlled by content distributors.

Innovation needs to be protected and not stifled. The only way to do this is to provide a legal framework in which discriminatory practices are not only discouraged but subject to fines and penalties. This is the domain of the FCC.

However when the rules are ambiguous or weak then there remains opportunities for abuse. Is bit-torrent a little slow today? Is Youtube taking way too long to download? Is this because of traffic overload or deliberate interference by the provider? Maybe they would rather you use another service.....one that they can profit from?

Although I think that the FCC rules are lacking and left open to various interpretations, there is another situation that i don't think has been addressed. What happens when the content provider and the content distributor are one and the same? Is there a conflict of interest or at the very least a danger of monopolistic behavior. Do other competitors have a chance in a stacked game?

This is the problem with the proposed Comcast/NBC merger. Unless there are safeguards put in place to isolate the two ends of the business, the potential for abuse is great.

[TruEngineHearing]

01:03 PM on 12/22/2010

The ignorance is breathtaking. This is very depressing; the Comcasts will sell the internets to the greedsters with the highest bids, and the righties will call it freedom. Small enterprises will lose their equal representation on the interwebs, and the rest of us will suddenly be back in line at Walmart; wondering what happened to the wild and woolly digital frontier.

[Stoshua]

05:12 PM on 12/22/2010

Its a shame. I don't know if half the Tweets that are shown are written by people who understand what Net Neutrality actually means. Comcast has been trying to kick its customers in the nuts for years. Almost yearly getting busted for covertly messing with packets and their current scheme to rape content providers that offer content like one of their other products. (read: Netflix, Level 3)

Make it simple... if you want to to be an ISP, then you have to provide access to the internet in all its protocols operating in a legal manner. (IE killing a customer's connection involved in delivering DDoS, Denial of Service, attack - Good. Black listing bit torrent traffic - bad

@Heritage
They're ignoring Congress and the court. It's time to stop the FCC Internet Czars

[Sixtyplus]

12:07 PM on 12/22/2010

On Tuesday, the FCC voted to adopt a framework that aims to preserve an "open Internet" by prohibiting Internet service providers from discriminating in how they handle information traveling
over their networks. This is so Americian ,a free an open internet, without corporations ( ATT&T, COMCAST and other big players) price gouging or addind restrictions of service to redirect a search
to one of there chosen subsidiary sites. WOW we finaly have a open internet by law at last.

[Realityism]

11:58 AM on 12/22/2010

lol @ "Net neutrality rules a blow to free markets"

What part of broadband access is a free market?

[flossophy]

03:09 PM on 12/22/2010

Up until now, the State hasn't been able to control it.

[Realityism]

10:04 AM on 12/23/2010

You fail high school economics.

[tompoe]

10:12 AM on 12/22/2010

Let's see. The FCC turns over control of our Internet to corporations. There are a lot of folks that hate that. The corporations feed a propaganda campaign that declares the FCC is attempting to take over control of our Internet. There are a lot of folks that hate that. What's left? Oh, yeah. The FCC vote in favor of the rules is passed by 3 jerks that like it.

Both Democrats and Republicans stand united on the vote. They hate it. They hate it for different reasons. Neither side wants government control of our Internet. Democrats want rules that protect our Internet. Republicans want no rules, which, if that would happen, would turn over control of our Internet to corporations. Odd, eh? We could say, Republicans want the FCC vote, but without the rules. You know, their free market capitalism nonsense that drove our country into ruin. Go figure.