FCC
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Accessibility and communication apps take FCC honors
It may seem strange to see a headline with “FCC” in it that doesn’t concern net neutrality. But the Commission has a wide variety of responsibilities, among which is promoting and enabling tech that empowers people with disabilities to take advantage of the internet and its many services. Several companies creating such tech just got accolades from the FCC today. Read More
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Senators ask FBI to look into FCC’s cyberattack claims
The FCC claimed earlier this month that the comment system by which people can weigh in on the proposal to kill net neutrality had been on the receiving end of a distributed denial-of-service attack. Today, a group of Senators asked that the FBI look into it. Read More
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Commission Impossible: How and why the FCC created net neutrality
The conflict over net neutrality we see playing out today is just the latest part of a complex dance of dispute that has been going on for quite a long time — longer than you might think. In order to understand what’s happening to the internet today and how we can keep it free and open in the future, we have to consult its past. Read More
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The FCC’s case against net neutrality rests on a deliberate misrepresentation of how the internet works
The FCC has just published the notice of proposed rulemaking that would roll back the 2015 Open Internet Order establishing net neutrality. Their first and primary justification for doing this is a way of defining broadband access that’s so backwards it’s ridiculous. It would be funny, if the future of the internet didn’t depend on this incredibly disingenuous maneuvering. Read More
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These are the arguments against net neutrality — and why they’re wrong
The next few months will be full of bitter dissent regarding the FCC’s net neutrality rules, how they should be enforced, and indeed whether they should exist at all. Several primary arguments against the rules as they stand have appeared as talking points or recurring themes; they are worth considering seriously and refuting definitively if possible. That’s what I’m hoping… Read More
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Weekly Roundup: WannaCry ransomware attack, Google I/O, RecordGram wins Startup Battlefield
This week the TechCrunch team threw another successful Disrupt conference, this time in New York City. 20 companies took the stage at TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield, where they presented their products and took questions from our expert judges. The judges narrowed the competition down to five finalists. But RecordGram, a mobile recording studio where aspiring artists can find… Read More
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The FCC officially proposes to end net neutrality rules (but it’s not over yet)
Today the FCC voted to officially propose an order that would eliminate net neutrality rules as we know them. To be clear, the rules are not being adopted today — that vote will be about three months from now, during which time the proposal is open for comment. Read More
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FCC commissioner: ‘Net neutrality is doomed if we’re silent’
Onstage at TechCrunch Disrupt NY, FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn urged the public to continue voicing their support for a free and open internet. “Net neutrality is doomed if we’re silent,” she said. Read More
Latest Crunch Report
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The FCC’s comment system targeted by DDoS attacks during filing period for net neutrality
The FCC suffered multiple distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks Sunday night and Monday morning, the agency said in a statement today. The attacks appear to be aimed at shutting down the electronic comment filing system by which people can submit opinions on the proposed rollback of net neutrality rules. Read More
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John Oliver reminds us that Net Neutrality is still under siege
John Oliver has again fired off his quick wit at the new FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and the Trump administration for trying to roll back Obama-era Net Neutrality rules. This isn’t the first time Oliver has addressed the issue of an “open internet,” as he touched on the topic back in 2014 during his fifth episode of Last Week Tonight. In that episode, he identified then-FCC… Read More
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Who needs the FCC? Seattle writes its own broadband privacy rule
Hardly anyone was pleased by the rollback of the broadband privacy rule last month, opening up the possibility of ISPs collecting and selling your browsing data — including, as it turns out, cities whose citizens were left out in the cold. Seattle wasted no time taking matters into their own hands, and the result is a local rule that provides a few of the repealed one’s… Read More
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FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn talks privacy, compromise and connecting communities
FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn has a lot of issues on her regulatory plate, some given marquee billing (the repeal of the commission’s Broadband Privacy Rule) and others lurking in the wings for years (unfair practices in prison inmate calling systems). I recently had the opportunity to talk with her about a handful of them. Read More
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Judge argues net neutrality violates the free speech rights of … internet providers
In perhaps the most absurd attack on net neutrality yet attempted, a federal judge argues that the rules established in 2015 by the FCC violate the first amendment rights of… internet service providers. Fortunately, this line of reasoning is as ineffectual as it is mistaken. Read More
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How to comment on the FCC’s proposal to revoke net neutrality
The FCC has made its initial proposal as to how it intends to do away with net neutrality — and despite what leadership there has said, that’s definitely how the proposed rules read. You are free to make your thoughts known on the notice of proposed rulemaking, as it’s called, and here’s how to do it. Read More
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The FCC’s anti-net neutrality proposal is a giant question mark
Yesterday the FCC’s chairman, Ajit Pai, put existing net neutrality rules on notice, saying that the agency would continue to protect consumers — but with a lighter touch. Just how he plans to do that, however, is an open question. The notice of proposed rulemaking released today is full of questions: some reasonable, some rhetorical and some desperate. And you get to answer them. Read More
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More than 800 startups ask FCC chair to not kill net neutrality
Today, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai released the broad strokes of his plan to abandon consumer protections to the benefit of large corporate players in the telecommunications industry. While major telecom companies are looking forward to Pai’s FCC makeover, the same can’t be said for everyone else in tech. Read More
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Sen. Schatz on FCC: ‘They have no idea how outraged people are about to be’
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai stirred up the hive today with his official declaration of war on the net neutrality rules established in 2015. Reactions have been mixed — depending on whether the person represents the telecommunications industry or not. In the melee, I had a chance to talk with Senator Schatz (D-Hawaii) about the pronouncement. Read More
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The FCC’s Myths vs. Facts sheet defending its plan to reverse net neutrality, annotated
Immediately after FCC Chairman Pai announced his intention to remove the net neutrality rules set in place in 2015, the agency issued a little preemptive strike against detractors. “Internet Regulation: Myths vs. Facts.” I’ve annotated it with a few extra facts. Read More
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