neutrality | Common News Update

Sep222020 by adminNo Comments

Climate change: China aims for ‘carbon neutrality by 2060’

Science

China will aim to hit peak emissions before 2030 and for carbon neutrality by 2060, President Xi Jinping has announced.Mr Xi outlined the steps when speaking via videolink to the UN General Assembly in New York.The announcement is being seen as a significant step in the fight against climate change. China is the world's biggest source of carbon dioxide, responsible for around 28% of global emissions.With global climate negotiations stalled and this year's conference of the parties (COP26) postponed until 2021, there had been little expectation of progress on the issue at the UN General Assembly.However China's president surprised the UN gathering by making a bold statement about his country's plans for tackling emissions. He call...

Aug92018 by adminNo Comments

John Oliver, not bots, a source of FCC’s negative net neutrality repeal comments

Technology

The Federal Communications Commission acknowledged Wednesday that bots were not responsible for the agency's website slowdown after it sought public comment last year on its controversial plan to repeal net neutrality. After people were temporarily unable to contest the proposal, the FCC at the time put out a statement blaming the issue on an "attack" by bots coordinated by "external actors." "Beginning on Sunday night at midnight, our analysis reveals that the FCC was subject to multiple distributed denial-of-service attacks (DDos)," said Chief Information Officer David Bray in the statement. "These actors were not attempting to file comments themselves; rather they made it difficult for legitimate commenters to access and file with the FCC." However, the slowdown was likely due to ...

Jun112018 by adminNo Comments

US officially repeals net neutrality rules

Technology

The US has officially repealed rules that governed the way net providers treated the data that travelled across their networks.The net neutrality rules said companies had to treat all data equally.Enacted in 2015, the rules sought to stop providers giving preferential treatment to sites and services that paid them to accelerate their data.And critics fear repealing them may see consumers charged extra for anything more than the most basic service.Public protests greeted the Federal Communications Commission's plan to end use of the rules, with many saying it could have an impact on free speech.But, in December, the FCC voted to repeal the rules. And the regulations expired on Monday. Media playback i...

Dec162017 by adminNo Comments

FCC votes to repeal net neutrality rules

Technology

The Federal Communications Commission voted Thursday to reverse so-called net neutrality rules that govern how internet service providers treat content and data. The five commissioners of the FCC voted along party lines — three Republicans to two Democrats — to roll back the rules, imposed in 2015 under President Barack Obama. The public debate over the rules has been heated at times, and Thursday's decision came after a brief delay when, on the "advice of security," FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced they needed to take a recess and the hearing room was evacuated. Reversal supporters claimed the rules unnecessarily regulate the industry and impede the free market. "It is not the job of the government to pick the winners and losers of the internet ... We should have a level playing field,...

Dec142017 by adminNo Comments

US regulator votes to repeal net neutrality laws

Technology

The US communications regulator has controversially voted to abolish net neutrality rules that guarantee equal access to the internet.The decision had been widely expected despite a campaign led by tech giants to keep regulations in place.Members of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), led by its Republican chairman Ajit Pai, voted along party lines to repeal rules put in place by the Obama administration in 2015.The vote was supported by the White House and protests were held outside FCC headquarters during its meeting, which was abruptly halted just before the vote "on the advice of security".:: Net neutrality: What a US vote means for the UKImage:Mr Pai voted along party lines to repeal rules put in place by the Obama administrationSome 22 million people had submitted comments a...