Part 3

Who is attacking Net Neutrality?

Big phone and cable companies and their lobbyists filed suit almost as soon as the Net Neutrality rules were adopted.

Free Press jumped in and helped argue the case defending the FCC — and on June 14, 2016, a federal appeals court upheld the open-internet protections in all respects. However, the IPs are still trying to challenge these rules in court.

Meanwhile, industry-funded Net Neutrality opponents in Congress have done everything they can to dismantle or undermine the rules. Legislators have introduced numerous deceptive bills and attached damaging riders to must-pass government-funding bills.

Tens of millions of the comments that the Federal Communications Commission received about net neutrality rules were from bots impersonating Americans, per the Washington Post. The comments went both ways — some supporting the regulations and some criticizing them. New York’s Attorney General Eric Schniederman wrote to the FCC that his office has been investigating “hundreds of thousands” of fake comments that seemingly came from New Yorkers. The FCC has not provided “crucial evidence” to assist in the probe, he wrote.

Why it matters: The FCC just announced it would repeal Obama-era net neutrality regulations. Schniederman is suggesting that the decision was influenced by fake comments. Per Axios’ David McCabe, the public’s ability to have a voice in this matter is being called into question, which is something that is likely to come into play in a court challenge.

https://www.axios.com/bots-flooded-the-fcc-with-comments-about-net-neutrality-2512428267.html

“Net neutrality isn’t just about writing rules, but about making sure that agencies will meaningfully enforce the spirit of them. The FCC, for example, determined in January that AT&T and Verizon’s zero-rating plans did violate net neutrality rules, though T-Mobile’s did not. But the report came out less than two weeks before former chairman Tom Wheeler stepped down, and Pai’s FCC has been predictably uninterested in following up with consequences.”

The Real Issue

Wired in 2014 on the real issue: Giant IP companies

https://www.wired.com/2014/06/net_neutrality_missing/

NY Times Opinion on the real issue, the AT&T/Time Warner Merger:

December 2017

Grand Design RV is recalling certain 2017-2018 Imagine recreational trailers. The wires at the air conditioning unit may detach from the connector and the loose wires may short circuit.

Forest River is recalling certain 2013-2014 Coachmen Freedom Express recreational trailers. The frames on these vehicles may not have had reinforcement stiffeners welded onto the exterior I-Beam in the axle area, allowing the axles to be misaligned.

Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2018 Puma recreational trailers. When installing and tightening the wheels on the trailers, the wheel center caps may have interfered, preventing the wheels from being properly tightened.

Forest River Inc. is recalling certain 2017-2018 Rockwood and Flagstaff travel trailers. The slideroom arm may contact and damage the passenger side rear tire. For additional information click here.

Keystone RV Company (Keystone) is recalling certain 2018 Crossroads Cruiser and 2017-2018 Crossroads Sunset, Volante, and Zinger recreational vehicles, equipped with Flame King cook tops designed for outdoor use. The cook tops have a corrugated fiber board that can burn due to a breeze or an inverted flame.

Keystone RV Company (Keystone) is recalling certain 2018 Carbon, Fuzion, and Raptor triple axle toy haulers. These vehicles may have an incorrectly welded suspension equalizer that can result in the suspension’s failure while traveling.

Keystone RV Company is recalling certain 2018 Crossroads Cruiser and Volante recreational trailers. These vehicles may have been manufactured with propane gas detectors instead of being manufactured with a combination propane gas/carbon monoxide detector.

Keystone RV Company is recalling certain 2017-2018 Keystone Cougar western edition recreational trailers. The stabilizer jacks may not have been properly welded to the chassis frame, possibly resulting in the jacks detaching from the trailer during transit.

The Keystone RV Co. facility in Goshen faces more than $12,000 in fines for reported safety violations.

The Goshen News reported that the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration (IOSHA) cited six issues labeled as “serious” following inspections from Aug. 15 to Sept. 21 at the plant, 2478 Davis Drive, documents from the state Labor Department show. The findings and the fines for them, totaling $12,150, were issued to Keystone Oct. 31. One set of violations involved safety precautions for elevated levels.

An IOSHA report found a chain guard rail was not in place in front of a mezzanine-level door at the plant. “Employees were exposed to an approximate 11-foot fall,” the document stated.

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