Republican US Presidential candidate Jeb Bush, who announced his candidacy on Facebook at the end of last year, has vowed to “repeal or reform the most onerous Obama rules and regulations,” with net neutrality high on that list.
“The Federal Communications Commission’s Net Neutrality rule classifies all Internet Service Providers (ISPs) as ‘public utilities,’ subjecting them to antiquated ‘common carrier’ regulation,” a post from Bush’s team, entitled “The Regulatory Crisis in Washington”, reads.
“Rather than enhancing consumer welfare, these rules prohibit one group of companies (ISPs) from charging another group of companies (content companies) the full cost for using their services,” the post continues, veiling Bush’s business-serving libertarian ideals behind advocacy for the common man.
Bush adds that broadband providers “like KWISP (475 customers in rural Illinois) and Wisper ISP (8,000 customers near St. Louis, Missouri)—have declared under penalty of perjury that the Net Neutrality rule has caused them to cut back on investments to upgrade and expand their networks,” failing to acknowledge that a number of ISPs, in the face of pending net neutrality laws, threatened to stop upgrading networks in order to hold the FCC to ransom. ISPs don’t like net neutrality as it prevents them from monetising the internet, one of the things consumers need protection from.
Thank you Ars Technica for providing us with this information.
