The F Word: Success on Net Neutrality

In an update on our last show, FCC chair Julius Genachowski says he's now going to go ahead and regulate broadband under the same decades-old rules designed for phone networks.
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Public pressure works, GRITtv guests love to say. Now we have a new example. In an update on our last show, FCC chair Julius Genachowski says he's now going to go ahead and regulate broadband under the same decades-old rules designed for phone networks.

This decision, as our guests Tim Karr and Amalia Deloney explained this week, will reiterate the FCC's jurisdiction and their right to enforce Net Neutrality. The move will likely anger the telecoms. More importantly, it shows the value of organized pressure on government agencies. Groups like Free Press and the Center for Media Justice rallied their contacts and made call after call to the FCC.

In a way, the success is an example of just why Net Neutrality matters. Score another for a free and open Internet. The rapid-response organizing done online by Free Press and others was integral to this campaign. And it worked. The new regulations not done and dusted as they say, but so far so good. More info - guess where - online.

The F Word is a regular commentary by Laura Flanders, the host of GRITtv which broadcasts weekdays on satellite TV (Dish Network Ch. 9415 Free Speech TV) on cable, and online at GRITtv.org and TheNation.com. Support us by signing up for our podcast, and follow GRITtv or GRITlaura on Twitter.com.

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