Verizon Vs. The FCC Net Neutrality Act
Has the FCC met its match? Verizon stepped up Thursday and filed an appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit against the FCC Net Neutrality Act. Verizon's position is the FCC does not have the authority to regulate the broadband industry and doing so will destabilize the communication industries, internet providers, investors, and, last but not least, the people.
The FCC is acting beyond the scope of its authority as set by Congress, according to Verizon.
After all, forcing transparency of how broadband industries manage their networks will provide solid information on the behind-the-scenes activities. Consumers will be able to decide who provides their Internet services based on facts, not hype.
The FCC maintains "consumers have a right to send and receive lawful Internet traffic—to go where they want and say what they want online, and to use the devices of their choice.” Blocking legal content, apps, devices and services is prohibited.
Sounds reasonable to me! With Google eliminating the use of the key words or meta-tags, how else are we going to find relevant information that isn't screened or censored for us by the service providers?
One case in point: when I type Nasa.gov in the address bar of Internet Explorer I get re-directed to Bing every time. Then I click Nasa.gov from Bing and violá, Nasa.gov. Is it necessary to be redirected to Bing first before I get where I'm going? I know the address, I didn't ask for Bing to tell me what I already know, yet it happens every time.
Should any authority be able to choose who wins or loses the almighty traffic count by discrimination? I say no, if I have to search for something, I want to be shown the most relevant items first, not the paid placements that have absolutely nothing to do with what I'm looking for.
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