<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div><br><br>Marsha drenth <div>email: <a href="mailto:marsha.drenth@gmail.com">marsha.drenth@gmail.com</a> <div>Sent with my IPhone </div><div><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Please note that this email communication has been sent using my iPhone. As such, I may have used dictation and had made attempts to mitigate errors. Please do not be hesitant to ask for clarification as necessary.</span> </div></div></div><div><br>Begin forwarded message:<br><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div><b>From:</b> Bryen M Yunashko <<a href="mailto:hello@bryen.com">hello@bryen.com</a>><br><b>Date:</b> June 16, 2014 at 1:37:19 PM EDT<br><b>To:</b> "<a href="mailto:aadb-l@googlegroups.com">aadb-l@googlegroups.com</a>" <<a href="mailto:aadb-l@googlegroups.com">aadb-l@googlegroups.com</a>><br><b>Subject:</b> <b>[AADB-L] Verizon and Net Neutrality</b><br><b>Reply-To:</b> <a href="mailto:aadb-l@googlegroups.com">aadb-l@googlegroups.com</a><br><br></div></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><div><span>Original article at:</span><br><span><a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/06/verizon-comcast-net-neutrality-blind-deaf-disabled">http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/06/verizon-comcast-net-neutrality-blind-deaf-disabled</a></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>Verizon Says It Wants to Kill Net Neutrality to Help Blind, Deaf, and</span><br><span>Disabled People</span><br><span>Lobbyists are telling Congress that the administration's plan to create</span><br><span>internet fast lanes and slow lanes is important for Americans with</span><br><span>disabilities.</span><br><span></span><br><span>—By Erika Eichelberger</span><br><span>| Fri Jun. 13, 2014 6:00 AM EDT</span><br><span></span><br><span> Email</span><br><span> 68</span><br><span></span><br><span>Peter Morgan/AP</span><br><span></span><br><span>Verizon lobbyists are canvassing Capitol Hill with a curious new</span><br><span>argument against net neutrality—it hurts disabled people. </span><br><span></span><br><span>The odd pitch comes as the Obama administration is mulling a plan to</span><br><span>scrap net neutrality—the idea that Internet service providers should</span><br><span>treat all websites equally—and instead allow ISPs to create Internet</span><br><span>"fast lanes" for companies that can afford to pay for speedier service.</span><br><span>The proposal, which is under consideration by the Federal Communications</span><br><span>Commission, has sparked a massive public outcry, including an "Occupy</span><br><span>the FCC" protest and a letter signed by 150 tech companies, including</span><br><span>Google, Amazon, and Netflix, opposing the plan. </span><br><span></span><br><span>Three Hill sources tell Mother Jones that Verizon lobbyists have cited</span><br><span>the needs of blind, deaf, and disabled people to try to convince</span><br><span>congressional staffers and their bosses to get on board with the fast</span><br><span>lane idea. But groups representing disabled Americans, including the</span><br><span>National Association of the Deaf, the National Federation of the Blind,</span><br><span>and the American Association of People with Disabilities are not</span><br><span>advocating for this plan. Mark Perriello, the president and CEO of the</span><br><span>AAPD, says that this is the "first time" he has heard "these specific</span><br><span>talking points."</span><br><span></span><br><span>There's no doubt that blind and deaf people, who use special online</span><br><span>services to communicate, need access to zippy Internet. Similarly,</span><br><span>smartphone-based medical devices that are popular with disabled people</span><br><span>require fast Internet service. Telecom industry lobbyists have argued</span><br><span>that, without a fast lane, disabled Americans could get stuck with</span><br><span>subpar service as Internet traffic increases. AAPD's Perriello says this</span><br><span>rationale could be genuine but seems "convenient."</span><br><span></span><br><span>Defenders of net neutrality are more cynical. The Verizon lobbyists'</span><br><span>argument is "disingenuous," says Matt Wood, a policy director at Free</span><br><span>Press, an Internet freedom advocacy group. The FCC says that even if the</span><br><span>agency doesn't go through with its fast lane proposal, companies that</span><br><span>serve disabled people would still be able to pay internet service</span><br><span>providers for faster service.</span><br><span></span><br><span>A spokesman for Verizon wouldn't confirm that Verizon lobbyists have</span><br><span>used the disabled access pitch, but he says the company's position on</span><br><span>the FCC's proposal is "not disingenuous." (Verizon has not taken a</span><br><span>public stance on the FCC's proposed fast lane rule.) An FCC spokesman</span><br><span>says the agency is evaluating the industry's disability argument.</span><br><span></span><br><span>The roots of the net neutrality fight go back more than a decade. In</span><br><span>2002, the George W. Bush-era FCC decided to classify the internet as an</span><br><span>"information service" instead of a public utility, protecting internet</span><br><span>services from the stringent regulations that land line phones fall</span><br><span>under. For years, free Internet advocates urged the FCC to reclassify</span><br><span>the internet, but the commission resisted. </span><br><span></span><br><span>Last month, the FCC dealt a major blow to net neutrality by proposing</span><br><span>new rules that would allow Internet service providers to charge online</span><br><span>content providers such as Facebook and Netflix higher rates for faster</span><br><span>service. The move caused a national outcry. Last week, the FCC's website</span><br><span>crashed after comedian John Oliver urged Internet "trolls" to comment at</span><br><span>the agency's website. In response to public ire, the FCC has said it</span><br><span>will reconsider classifying the Internet as a common utility.</span><br><span></span><br><span>The telecom industry is striving to ensure that the agency doesn't do</span><br><span>that. In 2014 alone, Internet service providers have spent close to $19</span><br><span>million lobbying on net neutrality, according to Senate lobbying</span><br><span>records:</span><br><span></span><br><span>Overall, ISP lobbying has exploded over the past decade:</span><br><span></span><br><span>This is not the first time the industry has cited the needs of disabled</span><br><span>people as it sought to influence FCC rules. Verizon made this argument</span><br><span>five years ago when the commission was drafting new regulations for</span><br><span>ISPs. In a 2009 speech, former Verizon Communications CEO Ivan</span><br><span>Seidenberg said that if his company was not allowed to prioritize</span><br><span>certain medical data over internet traffic like email and spam, then</span><br><span>people with health conditions might not benefit from life-saving</span><br><span>technological advances.</span><br><span></span><br><span>The decision the FCC makes in the coming months could "change the course</span><br><span>of the Internet for a long time to come," says Michael Copps, who served</span><br><span>as an FCC commissioner from 2001 to 2011, "perhaps in ways that will be</span><br><span>impossible to reverse."</span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>-- </span><br><span>You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google</span><br><span>Groups "AADB-L" group.</span><br><span></span><br><span>Moderators: </span><br><span>Randall Pope - <a href="mailto:randy.pope@aadb.org">randy.pope@aadb.org</a></span><br><span></span><br><span>To post to this group, send email to <a href="mailto:aadb-l@googlegroups.com">aadb-l@googlegroups.com</a></span><br><span>To review the group guidelines, visit this page:</span><br><span><a href="http://www.aadb.org/aadb/AADB-L%20List_Guideline%20_Rules.html">http://www.aadb.org/aadb/AADB-L%20List_Guideline%20_Rules.html</a></span><br><span></span><br><span>To subscribe to this group, send an email to:</span><br><span><a href="mailto:aadb-l+subscribe@googlegroups.com">aadb-l+subscribe@googlegroups.com</a></span><br><span>--- </span><br><span>You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "AADB-L" group.</span><br><span>To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to <a href="mailto:aadb-l+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com">aadb-l+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com</a>.</span><br><span>For more options, visit <a href="https://groups.google.com/d/optout">https://groups.google.com/d/optout</a>.</span><br></div></blockquote></body></html>