Getting the tinfoil tight enough is a problem these days

Submitted by terriertribe on Sun, 09/04/2016 - 8:07am

Over at Naked Capitalism there's an article on a 9th Circuit ruling that effectively deregulates companies that provide services on the internet:

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a sweeping decision, Federal Trade Commission v AT&T, on Monday that drastically restricts the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) consumer protection authority over companies that offer “common carrier” services (e.g., telephone services, mobile data, and internet services) whether or not these services comprise their core business. Moreover, since no other federal agency currently has the necessary scope of regulatory authority over this area, if this decision stands, significant activities of such companies would be essentially unregulated

It's not just Net Neutrality that's under attack. The Court ruled that ANY activity of the "common carrier" company is immune to FTC oversight. Google is such a common carrier thanks to Google Fiber . Facebook would be, except their satellite was destroyed when the rocket blew up on the launch pad the other day.

Can it be a coincidence that Google/YouTube (big Clinton supporter if you haven't been keeping up) has just issued new rules concerning how they share ad revenue with posters? Jimmy Dore discusses the change and how it's certain to be arbitrarily applied:

[VIDEO:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSPOz80PyvA]
Essentially, YouTube's new rules mean that if they decide your post is "unacceptable" according to a list of broad conditions (that boil down to "we don't like it") then they won't share ad revenue with you for that post, and if you hit some unstated number of unacceptable posts, they will defund your channel entirely. They're not outright banning certain topics or viewpoints, but this is clear: Post what we like, or we'll turn your channel into an expensive hobby.

According to Dore the defunding notices are already being sent.

Tags:

censorship

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Comments

Submitted by dkmich on Sun, 09/04/2016 - 8:44am

Lee Camp and Dedacted News

is talking about it too. All the alternative sites dependent on the internet are about to get their heads cut off. Welcome to corporate Amerika, land of the $free$ for them.

—

"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon

Submitted by dkmich on Sun, 09/04/2016 - 1:35pm

Lol. Dedacted

I usually get the first letter right and everything else wrong. This is a first.

—

"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon

Submitted by Cant Stop the M... on Sun, 09/04/2016 - 9:19pm

Seems like this would be a good time for

a crowdfunded networked indie media!

Heh.

—

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Submitted by Ellen North on Sun, 09/04/2016 - 10:25pm

Yup, but would that be on the

Yup, but would that be on the internet the US public paid to have developed but which is being handed over to corporate control by corrupt public officials, including judges?

—

Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.

A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.

Submitted by Citizen Of Earth on Sun, 09/04/2016 - 9:09am

Score Another One For Milton Friedmans Rotting Corpse

Neoliberals are firmly in charge of the US including the courts.

—

Donnie The #ShitHole Douchebag. Fake Friend to the Working Class. Real Asshole.

Submitted by boriscleto on Sun, 09/04/2016 - 9:19am

A straight up Con job

The three judges who issued this ruling were all GWB appointees. This one will end up in front of the Supreme Court. We can only guess whether there will be nine justices when it is heard...

—

" In the beginning, the universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry, and is generally considered to have been a bad move. -- Douglas Adams, The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy "

Submitted by Leu2500 on Sun, 09/04/2016 - 9:52am

Would Merrick Garland

On the court help? /s

Submitted by wilderness voice on Sun, 09/04/2016 - 3:07pm

that would explain it

Was surprised to see this kind of ruling coming from the 9th circuit. Perhaps appellant should petition for an en banc rehearing.

Submitted by Leu2500 on Sun, 09/04/2016 - 9:51am

Am I correct in thinking

That the 1996 telecommunications act, signed by Bill Clinton, probably played into this decision?

Submitted by boriscleto on Sun, 09/04/2016 - 10:18am

Section 5 of the FTC Act

So why did the court toss the FTC’s case?

First, it’s necessary to understand that section 5 of the FTC Act includes an exemption from regulation for common carriers. The FTC had argued for an activity-based exemption. Translated into plain English that means that a company– even if a common carrier– would be exempt from the FTC’s consumer protection authority only when it engaged in common carrier activities.

But the court rejected this argument and decided instead that based on the language and structure of Section 5 of the FTC Act, the common carrier exception was a status-based exemption. That means a common carrier was exempt from regulation purely based on its status as a common carrier, regardless of the type of activities it engaged in. The court decided that since AT&T was as a common carrier, it was not covered by the FTC’s consumer protection regulatory authority, and so it dismissed the FTC’s lawsuit.

The court is saying that common carriers can't be regulated by the FTC regardless of what activities they are engaged in based on the common carrier exemption in the FTC Act.

—

" In the beginning, the universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry, and is generally considered to have been a bad move. -- Douglas Adams, The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy "

Submitted by WindDancer13 on Sun, 09/04/2016 - 9:41am

Time to check these out?

Top 10 Best Alternatives To YouTube

7 YouTube Alternatives & Why They Make Sense

5 Video Sites That Are Alternatives to YouTube

The articles cover some of the same sites, but each offers its own take or additional information on them.

Boycotting corporations is always a good alternative when they choose a non-democratic path.

Edited to add: We're the nerds behind LBRY: a decentralized, community-owned YouTube alternative that raised a half million dollars yesterday - let's save the internet - AMA / AUsA Funny though that they have a video up at YouTube to advertise this. Sort of reminds me of bulletin board systems BBSs.

—

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

Submitted by elenacarlena on Sun, 09/04/2016 - 9:32am

I was wondering why someone couldn't just post a competitor

to YouTube. Hooray, they can! At least for now.

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Please check out Pet Vet Help, consider joining us to help pets, and follow me @ElenaCarlena on Twitter! Thank you.

Submitted by WindDancer13 on Sun, 09/04/2016 - 9:43am

I just posted an additional alternative.

They do have an ad for the new service at YouTube. LOL

—

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

Submitted by UntimelyRippd on Sun, 09/04/2016 - 10:38am

it takes a boatload of money to serve up all those

gigs of video.

—

The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.

Submitted by elenacarlena on Sun, 09/04/2016 - 2:11pm

Hoefully someone who already has money, like TYT, will get

it going. Ads would pay for it eventually. Someone could make a nice pile potentially.

—

Please check out Pet Vet Help, consider joining us to help pets, and follow me @ElenaCarlena on Twitter! Thank you.

Submitted by Hawkfish on Sun, 09/04/2016 - 10:23am

Don't worry, China will enable competition

I just wrote that and I can't even tell if it's snark...

—

We can’t save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed.
- Greta Thunberg

Submitted by Hawkfish on Sun, 09/04/2016 - 10:34am

I'd always thought of the 9th as being fairly liberal

It turns out to be more complex than that:

By contrast, in the Ninth Circuit it is impractical for 29 or more judges to take part in a single oral argument and deliberate on a decision en masse. The court thus provides for a “limited en banc review of a randomly selected 11 judge panel. This means that en banc reviews may not actually reflect the views of the majority of the court and indeed may not include any of the three judges involved in the decision being reviewed in the first place. The result, according to detractors, is a high risk of intracircuit conflicts of law where different groupings of judges end up delivering contradictory opinions.

—

We can’t save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed.
- Greta Thunberg

Submitted by terriertribe on Sun, 09/04/2016 - 10:59am

Sure would like to see a list

Of how the new rules are being applied.

—

Now interviewing signature candidates. Apply within.

Submitted by Alphalop on Sun, 09/04/2016 - 11:27am

It's pretty obvious why these changes are taking place.

It's really quite simple, the oligarchs are starting to get nervous that the Peons are about to explode and they want to prevent that and maintain their control over the flow of information.

We are at war and this is just another artillery bombardment on our "infrastructure", the first step in any campaign to reduce your enemy's capability to fight back.

This is just another attempt to silence dissenting voices and maintain their grip on power.

The attacks on Net Neutrality failed, so this is a holding action until they can mount another attack.

These are indeed dark times we are dwelling in.

—

"I used to vote Republican & Democrat, I also used to shit my pants. Eventually I got smart enough to stop doing both things." -Me

Submitted by hellinahandcart on Sun, 09/04/2016 - 3:01pm

Yep, I think that, too.

And by the way, there's something about Net Neutrality in the TPP. Don't know what it is, but I find the fact that it's mentioned disconcerting.

Submitted by gustogirl on Sun, 09/04/2016 - 7:39pm

I'm in complete agreement.

They are taking away all the tools we might be able to use in order to organize.

It's going to force us to be more and more local, but the media won't report so we will all be islands without the ability to cooperate.

Even local organization has its dangers, what with all the surveillance on every corner.

I wish everyone of similar mind would read The Starfish and the Spider (link function not working for me) which is a real simple google.

Submitted by Cant Stop the M... on Sun, 09/04/2016 - 9:21pm

Well, we could have a crowdfunded, networked indie media

Which would be a lot easier if we could get some of these visible, famous people to help out, since the problem with raising money for this, rather than for Bernie Sanders' presidential run, is apparently credibility/trust.

—

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Submitted by Ellen North on Sun, 09/04/2016 - 10:38pm

And preparation for the TPP

And preparation for the TPP et al - when there will be riots among the aware.

—

Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.

A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.