net neutrality

Film 'War for Web' warns of CISPA, SOPA, future threats

From Aaron Swartz's struggles with an antihacking law to Hollywood's lobbying to a raft of surveillance proposals, the Internet and its users' rights are under attack as never before, according to the creators of a forthcoming documentary film.

The film, titled "War for the Web," traces the physical infrastructure of the Internet, from fat underwater cables to living room routers, as a way to explain the story of what's behind the high-volume politicking over proposals like CISPA, Net neutrality, and the Stop Online Piracy Act.

"People talk about security, people talk about privacy, they … Read more

The strange resurrection of Net neutrality

WASHINGTON, D.C.--At this week's State of the Net conference, an annual event of the bipartisan Congressional Internet Caucus, members of Congress, staffers, and technology policy junkies gathered once again to explore the government's Internet-related priorities for the new year.

A few themes emerged, including possible legislation over cybersecurity, a rewrite of the 1996 Communications Act, reforming federal electronic-surveillance laws, and the continuing threat of both national governments and the United Nations trying to wrest control of Internet governance from engineering-driven groups.

The general consensus, however, was that for at least the next several months, the fiscal … Read more

FCC, stakeholders align on communications policy -- for now

LAS VEGAS--Peace appears to be breaking out between mobile Internet users and regulators.

During the three-day Innovation Policy Summit here at CES, members of Congress, FCC commissioners, industry representatives, and consumer groups found little to disagree on, whether the topic was incentive auctions for more broadband spectrum, retiring legacy copper networks in favor of native IP, sharing government spectrum in the 5 GHz band for high-speed Wi-Fi, or the continuing threat of international efforts to turn Internet governance over to repressive national governments so they can destroy it.

Some minor skirmishes broke out, of course, but the conversation this week … Read more

CNET Tech Voters' Guide 2012: Romney vs. Obama on the issues

Technology topics can mark a rare bipartisan area of political agreement: Both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama say they would make cybersecurity a priority, and both like to talk up government funding of basic research.

If you look a bit more closely, however, differences emerge. They're perhaps most marked over federal regulation, where the two major parties have long-standing disagreements, but also exist on topics like WikiLeaks, copyright legislation, and whether to levy a new tax on broadband providers.

Keep reading for CNET's 2012 Tech Voters' Guide, in which we highlight where the four candidates -- we've … Read more

AT&T faces Net neutrality complaint for FaceTime over 3G

A trio public interest groups intend to file a formal complaint against telecom giant AT&T over a decision to require a specific wireless data plan to use Apple's FaceTime video chat over its 3G network.

In a notice today, Free Press, Public Knowledge, and the New America Foundation's Open Technology Institute said they intended to file a complaint against the carrier with the Federal Communications Commission asserting that AT&T has violated Net Neutrality with a policy that requires users to be on a specific data plan in order to use Apple's FaceTime video … Read more

Why Net neutrality is incompatible with 'Internet freedom'

commentary These two words -- "Internet freedom" -- are ricocheting around cyberspace almost as fast as neutrons and protons bouncing around inside an atom's nucleus. Well, almost as fast.

Both Republicans and Democrats -- and most everyone else -- proclaim to be in favor of Internet freedom. Here's a Fox News article, "The 2012 Political Tug of War for the Internet," that describes the political effort to capture the "Internet Freedom" flag. The article points out that the Republican Party platform has a plank expressly headed, "Protecting Internet Freedom," and … Read more

AT&T defends FaceTime restrictions amid sharp criticism

In a blog post Wednesday, AT&T defended its new policy of restricting use of Apple's FaceTime app so that only customers on its Mobile Share plans can take advantage of it. But consumer advocates still say AT&T is violating the Federal Communications Commission's Open Internet rules.

Last week, AT&T confirmed that it has plans to make the popular video chat app FaceTime, which is preloaded on all iPhone 4 devices and newer iPhones, available for use on its 3G and 4G networks. Previously, the preloaded app worked only on Wi-Fi networks, but … Read more

Verizon renews criticism of Net neutrality regulations

ASPEN, Colo. -- Verizon today renewed its criticisms of the Obama administration's Net neutrality rules, saying its lawsuit seeking to overturn them will rein in an out-of-control federal agency.

The company's lawsuit is about "the importance of restraint on the regulatory authority in the Internet space," said Tom Tauke, Verizon's executive vice president for public affairs. "We believe that is critical -- and this battle is really a battle about that kind of restraint."

In September 2011, Verizon filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the Federal Communication Commission's Net neutrality rules. The … Read more

Verizon to pay $1.25M FCC fine; forced to allow tethering apps

Verizon Wireless is no longer allowed to block apps that allow people to use their 4G LTE smartphones as Wi-Fi hotspots. And the carrier will pay the Federal Communications Commission a $1.25 million fine, the government agency said Tuesday.

The FCC has been investigating Verizon's business practices for the last 10 months to make sure that its 4G LTE service complies with so-called open access rules that were established as part of the 700 MHz spectrum auction in 2008. Verizon is using this spectrum to offer its 4G LTE service.

During its investigation, the FCC found that Verizon … Read more