Email updates on news, actions,and events in your area.DEEPLINKS BLOGShare ItIn 2005, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) made a foundational decision on how broadband competition policy would work with the entry of fiber to the home. In short, the FCC concluded that competition was growing, government policy was unnecessary in deference to market forces, and that the era of communications monopoly was rapidly ending. The very next year at the request of companies like Verizon and AT&T, some states, including California, passed laws that consolidated local “franchises” into...…Email updates on news, actions,and events in your area.DEEPLINKS BLOGShare ItIn 2005, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) made a foundational decision on how broadband competition policy would work with the entry of fiber to the home. In short, the FCC concluded that competition was growing, government policy was unnecessary in deference to market forces, and that the era of communications monopoly was rapidly ending. The very next year at the request of companies like Verizon and AT&T, some states, including California, passed laws that consolidated local “franchises” into...WW…

Email updates on news, actions,and events in your area.DEEPLINKS BLOGShare ItWhen it launched HBO Max, it that usage of the service would not count against the data caps of AT&T customers, a practice known as “zero-rating.” This means that people on limited data plans could watch as much HBO Max content as they wished without incurring overage fees. AT&T just declared that it would stop this practice, citing California’s net neutrality law as a reason. No matter what spin the telecom giant offers, this does not mean something “free” was taken away. That deal was never free to...…Email updates on news, actions,and events in your area.DEEPLINKS BLOGShare ItWhen it launched HBO Max, it that usage of the service would not count against the data caps of AT&T customers, a practice known as “zero-rating.” This means that people on limited data plans could watch as much HBO Max content as they wished without incurring overage fees. AT&T just declared that it would stop this practice, citing California’s net neutrality law as a reason. No matter what spin the telecom giant offers, this does not mean something “free” was taken away. That deal was never free to...WW…

Email updates on news, actions,and events in your area.DEEPLINKS BLOGShare ItWhen it comes to broadband policy, much of the attention on California understandably has been focused on its legal win on S.B. 822, . That court case is likely to head to the 9th Circuit next, and we are optimistic that the state will prevail. But while that law continues its journey through the courts, there are nearly a dozen bills covering broadband policy in California—many proposing massive, positive changes to reinvent how broadband access is delivered to people, and to achieve 100% access with an emphasis...…Email updates on news, actions,and events in your area.DEEPLINKS BLOGShare ItWhen it comes to broadband policy, much of the attention on California understandably has been focused on its legal win on S.B. 822, . That court case is likely to head to the 9th Circuit next, and we are optimistic that the state will prevail. But while that law continues its journey through the courts, there are nearly a dozen bills covering broadband policy in California—many proposing massive, positive changes to reinvent how broadband access is delivered to people, and to achieve 100% access with an emphasis...WW…

Email updates on news, actions,and events in your area.DEEPLINKS BLOGShare ItNew year, new Congress, but the problems of Internet access remains. If anything, the longer the COVID-19 crisis continues, the stronger the case for fast, affordable, Internet for all becomes. And so, an updated version of the Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act has been introduced. It remains a bold federal program that will tackle broadband access in the same scale and scope the United States once did for water and electricity.EFF and we enthusiastically support it today after its updates. Most changes...…Email updates on news, actions,and events in your area.DEEPLINKS BLOGShare ItNew year, new Congress, but the problems of Internet access remains. If anything, the longer the COVID-19 crisis continues, the stronger the case for fast, affordable, Internet for all becomes. And so, an updated version of the Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act has been introduced. It remains a bold federal program that will tackle broadband access in the same scale and scope the United States once did for water and electricity.EFF and we enthusiastically support it today after its updates. Most changes...WW…

Email updates on news, actions,and events in your area.DEEPLINKS BLOGShare ItEFF Legal Fellow Josh Srago co-wrote this blog postThe relationship between the federal judiciary and the executive agencies is a complex one. While Congress makes the laws, they can grant the agencies rulemaking authority to interpret the law. So long as the agency’s interpretation of any ambiguous language in the statute is reasonable, the courts will defer to the judgment of the agency.For broadband access, the courts have deferred to the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) judgment on the proper...…Email updates on news, actions,and events in your area.DEEPLINKS BLOGShare ItEFF Legal Fellow Josh Srago co-wrote this blog postThe relationship between the federal judiciary and the executive agencies is a complex one. While Congress makes the laws, they can grant the agencies rulemaking authority to interpret the law. So long as the agency’s interpretation of any ambiguous language in the statute is reasonable, the courts will defer to the judgment of the agency.For broadband access, the courts have deferred to the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) judgment on the proper...WW…

Email updates on news, actions,and events in your area.DEEPLINKS BLOGShare ItIt is quite possible - some would argue it is more than likely - that the final landscape of the Bell System breakup will include a bankrupted MCI and an AT&T returned to its original state as a regulated, albeit smaller and less effective, telephone monopoly. The source of this specter lies not in anyone's crystal ball but in the history of U.S. v. AT&T. Precious little in that history - the birth of MCI, the development of phone industry competition, the filing of the Justice lawsuit, the prolonged...…Email updates on news, actions,and events in your area.DEEPLINKS BLOGShare ItIt is quite possible - some would argue it is more than likely - that the final landscape of the Bell System breakup will include a bankrupted MCI and an AT&T returned to its original state as a regulated, albeit smaller and less effective, telephone monopoly. The source of this specter lies not in anyone's crystal ball but in the history of U.S. v. AT&T. Precious little in that history - the birth of MCI, the development of phone industry competition, the filing of the Justice lawsuit, the prolonged...WW…

Email updates on news, actions,and events in your area.DEEPLINKS BLOGShare ItWith a new year and a new Congress, the House of Representatives’ subcommittee covering antitrust has turned its attention to “reviving competition.” On Thursday, the first in a series of hearings was held, focusing on how to help small businesses challenge Big Tech. One very good idea kept coming up, backed by both parties. And it is one EFF also considers essential: interoperability.This was the first hearing since the House Judiciary Committee issued its from its investigation into the business practices of Big...…Email updates on news, actions,and events in your area.DEEPLINKS BLOGShare ItWith a new year and a new Congress, the House of Representatives’ subcommittee covering antitrust has turned its attention to “reviving competition.” On Thursday, the first in a series of hearings was held, focusing on how to help small businesses challenge Big Tech. One very good idea kept coming up, backed by both parties. And it is one EFF also considers essential: interoperability.This was the first hearing since the House Judiciary Committee issued its from its investigation into the business practices of Big...WW…

Email updates on news, actions,and events in your area.DEEPLINKS BLOGShare ItThe rollout of fiber broadband will never make it to many communities in the US. That’s because large, national ISPs are currently laying fiber primarily focused on high-income users to the detriment of the rest of their users. The absence of regulators has created a situation where wealthy end users are getting fiber, but predominantly low-income users are not being transitioned off legacy infrastructure. The result being “digital redlining” of broadband, where wealthy broadband users are getting the benefits of...…Email updates on news, actions,and events in your area.DEEPLINKS BLOGShare ItThe rollout of fiber broadband will never make it to many communities in the US. That’s because large, national ISPs are currently laying fiber primarily focused on high-income users to the detriment of the rest of their users. The absence of regulators has created a situation where wealthy end users are getting fiber, but predominantly low-income users are not being transitioned off legacy infrastructure. The result being “digital redlining” of broadband, where wealthy broadband users are getting the benefits of...WW…

Email updates on news, actions,and events in your area.DEEPLINKS BLOGShare Itbillion dollar investment in public infrastructureSupport Broadband for All in CAliforniaShare ItVisa, the credit card network, is financial technology company Plaid for $5.3 billion. The merger is bad for a number of reasons. First and foremost, it would allow a giant company with a controlling market share and a to snap...Episode 004 of EFF’s How to Fix the InternetCory Doctorow joins EFF hosts Cindy Cohn and Danny O’Brien as they discuss how large, established tech companies like Apple, Google, and Facebook can...…Email updates on news, actions,and events in your area.DEEPLINKS BLOGShare Itbillion dollar investment in public infrastructureSupport Broadband for All in CAliforniaShare ItVisa, the credit card network, is financial technology company Plaid for $5.3 billion. The merger is bad for a number of reasons. First and foremost, it would allow a giant company with a controlling market share and a to snap...Episode 004 of EFF’s How to Fix the InternetCory Doctorow joins EFF hosts Cindy Cohn and Danny O’Brien as they discuss how large, established tech companies like Apple, Google, and Facebook can...WW…

Email updates on news, actions,and events in your area.DEEPLINKS BLOGShare ItFor the first time, an American president  that wouldn’t just make a dent in the digital divide, it will end it. By deploying federal resources at the level and scale this country has not seen since electrification nearly 100 years ago, the U.S. will again connect every resident to a necessary service. Like with water and electricity, robust internet access, as the pandemic has proven, is an essential service. And so the effort and resources expended are well-worth it.The president’s plan,  of...…Email updates on news, actions,and events in your area.DEEPLINKS BLOGShare ItFor the first time, an American president  that wouldn’t just make a dent in the digital divide, it will end it. By deploying federal resources at the level and scale this country has not seen since electrification nearly 100 years ago, the U.S. will again connect every resident to a necessary service. Like with water and electricity, robust internet access, as the pandemic has proven, is an essential service. And so the effort and resources expended are well-worth it.The president’s plan,  of...WW…