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by cheald
974 days ago
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I'm still broadly convinced that the whole net neutrality outcry back in 2017 was due to a fundamental misunderstanding of how peering works and misplaced anger due to the peering dispute between Cogent and Comcast (and Verizon, and I'm sure plenty of others). None of the promised apocalypse materialized, because the marketing materials used to make the case for it were fundamentally wrong. |
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Keep in mind that states passed net neutrality laws [1], and large ISPs such as Comcast and Verizon tried to ban states from doing so [2]. Even so, the reclassification of broadband from Title II to Title I formally removed much of the FCC's authority to regulate ISPs at all [3]:
> A big part of the FCC’s plan involves rolling back the FCC’s tailor-made authority over broadband providers, then shoveling all remaining government oversight to an FTC ill-equipped to handle it.
> Why is that a problem? The FTC has no rule-making ability, and can only move to protect consumers after a violation has occurred. And that action can only occur if it’s painfully clear that an ISP engaged in “unfair and deceptive” behavior, something that’s easy for an ISP to dodge in the net neutrality era, where anti-competitive behavior is often buried under faux-technical jargon and claims that it was done only for the health and safety of the network.
Federal net neutrality rules were significant but nonetheless were a fraction of the broadband consumer protection debate. You are correct that an apocalypse didn't happen. Rather, the US already was mired in monopolization, fraud, and regulatory capture. These are problems net neutrality can provide only a bandage for. The FCC couldn't begin to help with the larger issues without restoring at least some of its Title II authority (regardless of whether the FCC would actually acknowledge the monopolization in the first place [4]).
[1] https://www.techdirt.com/2022/01/28/courts-again-shoot-down-...
[2] https://www.techdirt.com/2017/11/06/comcast-urges-fcc-to-ban...
[3] https://www.vice.com/en/article/yw5d5g/net-neutrality-big-te...
[4] https://www.techdirt.com/2023/03/22/net-neutralitys-dead-tim...