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Jury hears Trump and Cohen Discussing Hush-Money Deal on secret recording; Nature-based solutions help solve Mississippi River Delta problems; Public lands groups cheer the expansion of two CA national monuments; 'Art Against the Odds' shines a light on artists in the WI justice system.

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President Biden defends dissent but says "order must prevail" on campus, former President Trump won't commit to accepting the 2024 election results and Nebraska lawmakers circumvent a ballot measure repealing private school vouchers.

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Bidding begins soon for Wyoming's elk antlers, Southeastern states gained population in the past year, small rural energy projects are losing out to bigger proposals, and a rural arts cooperative is filling the gap for schools in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Is Trump's FCC Pick Threat to Open Internet?

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Monday, January 30, 2017   

SALT LAKE CITY – The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) guaranteed equal access to the Internet two years ago, when the regulatory agency passed net neutrality, backed by the Obama administration.

Nearly 4 million public comments helped cement the open Internet rules. But will they survive?

President Donald Trump's choice for FCC chairman, Ajit Pai, has called net neutrality a "massive intrusion into the Internet economy."

Marty Newell, who coordinates the Rural Broadband Policy Group, says the rules are "a guard against overreach" by corporate interests.

He fears without this protection, content from big providers will make it onto the Web's fast lane, pushing other providers to the slow lane.

"What worries me is that small folks are going to have a hard time finding room – that they're going to get moved aside – and that doesn't serve consumers well,” he states. “It also doesn't serve entrepreneurs well."

Newell says it could especially hurt those in rural areas trying to deliver goods or services online.

But when Pai announced his opposition to the net neutrality decision, he said the rules created "less choice and less free data for consumers."

Pai, who has been with the FCC since 2012, maintains the Internet was already "open and free."

"And so, in my view, net neutrality rules are a solution in search of a problem," he states.

Newell says the nation's history in treating telephone service as a utility illustrates the importance of regulating common carriers. He says monopolies don't tend to serve consumers well – especially in under-served, rural areas.

"We've moved past where a telephone is a telephone,” he stresses. “Now, the Internet is as much that communications tool as anything."

For that reason, Newell says the simple notion of an equal information highway must continue.

"All legal content and all users get the same even-handed treatment, and we're not picking winners,” he states. “Without that rule, corporate interests get to pick the winners."







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