FCC chair proposes tough rules over Internet service
Tech Industry
The FCC may regulate the internet like a utility.
I'm Bridget Carey, and this is your CNET update.
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The debate on net neutrality is heating up again as the chair of the Federal Communications Commission.
Releases his latest proposal to enforce net neutrality.
That concept means all internet traffic should be delivered the same to you regardless of what site you go to or what device you view it on.
To enforce it.
FCC chairman Tom Wheeler wants to regulate internet providers like a utility.
That includes both wired broadband and wireless internet.
The FCC has rules that let it enforce customer fairness for telephone service, but it wants to extend that to internet traffic.
That means broadband providers like Comcast, Verizon, and AT&T.
Cannot favor some traffic over another.
Their proposal bans blocking content, throttling content, and paid prioritization.
It means a website can't be charged a toll to get to your home faster.
Get ready for the internet providers to fight back in court.
The providers cry out that more regulation hurts innovation, and some promise legal action to prevent the FCC from gaining this authority.
This net neutrality issue's gonna keep playing out.
But in the meantime, there's some security news to be aware of.
Millions of Android users may be infected with malicious apps that pop up ads on your screen.
Three of these bad apps reported by the security firm Avast, and are now removed from the Google Play store.
But there could very well be others out there with similar bad code.
One user posted this video on YouTube showing what happens.
When you unlock your device, an app opens an ad in a browser, and a pop-up asks you to click OK to fix a security issue.
And that just.
sends you to download another shady app.
One of these malicious apps was a card game called, Durak.
It was aimed at English language users.
It was listed as being installed five to ten million times since December of last year.
Other two apps targeted Russian speaking users.
People don't know these apps are bad right away, because it can take a month for the pop ups to start.
The app works like a normal game, so you may not realize what's causing the pop ups.
And speaking of unstoppable ads, Instagram is not looping videos on repeat by default.
That includes video advertisements.
It's just like Vine, but Instagram videos are a little longer, and you can't pause the video.
Twitter is also making changes, it wants to be easier to understand for brand new users because, let's be honest, Twitter is weird when you're new to it.
But, to save you from hunting for accounts to follow, Twitter's just gonna autofill your feed with accounts to follow based on who your contacts follow.
That's your tech news update.
You can stay updated at cnet.com.
From our studios in New York I'm Bridgette Kelly.
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