FEC APPROVES NET NEUTRALITY Reuters: “U.S.
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Reuters: “U.S. regulators … approved the strictest-ever rules on Internet providers, who in turn pledged to battle the new restrictions in the courts and Congress, saying they would discourage investment and stifle innovation. The rules, which will go into effect in coming weeks, are expected to face legal challenges from multiple parties such as wireless, cable and other broadband companies and trade groups that represent them. Experts expect the industry to seek a stay of the rules, first at the FCC and then in courts, though the chances for success of such an appeal is unclear.
“The new regulations come after a year of jostling between cable and telecom companies and net neutrality advocates, which included web startups. It culminated in the FCC receiving a record 4 million comments and a call from … Obama to adopt the strongest rules possible. The agency's new policy, approved as expected along party lines, reclassifies broadband, both fixed and mobile, as a more heavily regulated ‘telecommunications service,’ more like a traditional telephone service."
http://reut.rs/18s8c4R
GOP PLEDGES TO FIGHT RULING
Bloomberg’s Todd Shields: “Republican lawmakers pledged to try to overturn net-neutrality rules adopted Thursday … House Speaker John Boehner, an Ohio Republican, said lawmakers would try to stop what he called the FCC’s ‘misguided scheme.’ In the Senate, John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, called on Democrats ‘to join a bipartisan effort.’ ‘The fight to keep the Internet unburdened from regulatory overreach is far from over,’ Thune, who is chairman of the Commerce Committee, said … A Republican alternative proposal, however, foundered last month for lack of support from Democrats, who hold enough votes to block the measure in the Senate.”
http://bloom.bg/1FBr4sk