Thread by @KarlBode

People still don't understand that the FCC repeal of #netneutrality did a lot more than just kill net neutrality.

It gutted FCC oversight of ISPs, punting much of it to an already overworked FTC with shaky authority over telecom.

An example of this new order in practice...

Back in August Senator Quigley sent a letter to the FCC, asking it to, you know, do something about the way ISPs rip off consumers with modem and gateway rental fees, which saddle users with unnecessary costs.

docs.fcc.gov/public/attachm…

Pai's response in a letter this week basically shovels the responsibility for doing anything over to the FTC, who'll probably do nothing about the problem.

This is how the broadband industry wanted this little game to work.

docs.fcc.gov/public/attachm…

And while Pai suggests that consumers have a recourse by complaining to the FCC, the FCC doesn't really do much more than forward the complaint to the ISP. They don't say, really penalize any ISP that continues to rip you off.

So when companies like Frontier charge you $10 to rent a broadband modem even if you own the modem, you'll get caught in a regulatory quagmire, quite by telecom lobbyist design:

techdirt.com/articles/20190…

Pai (and his telecom industry BFFs) know the FTC can only act if something can very clearly be shown to be "unfair and deceptive" under the FTC act. They're also painfully understaffed, which is why enforcement takes years if it happens at all.

The goal of the telecom industry's "restoring internet freedom" order was to hamstring the FCC, then shovel oversight to an FTC the industry knows either won't act, can't act, or will take five years (see Facebook) to act.

It's a big con, and I wish people understood it.

Again, here's a good example of this new paradigm in practice. Frontier Communications has been ripping off its users by charging them a modem rental fee even if they own a modem (something Comcast also loves to do).

The FCC/FTC response? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

arstechnica.com/information-te…

And don't forget, because ISPs (like every other corporation) now bans you from suing them in court via fine print, your legal options are also hamstrung.

It's a nice system industry lobbyists are building where there's zero real accountability and little consumer recourse.

So yeah, people who say "the FCC repealed #netneutrality and the internet didn't implode so it must not have been bad" are just advertising they're gullible and uninformed.

@dellcam also had a good piece on this new reality back in June:

gizmodo.com/ajit-pai-is-wo…

@dellcam The FCC was custom built to hold ISPs accountable, which is why big telecom wanted it neutered via the #netneutrality repeal and the FTC put in charge.

You know, this FTC:

marketwatch.com/story/congress…