John Oliver discussed net neutrality again on his show Last Week Tonight on HBO. Three years ago, he talked about the concept, and the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) website was shut down after the video went viral. John Oliver told people to go to the FCC’s website and leave comments for them.
At the time, the Obama administration said:
“Today’s ruling is a victory for the open, fair, and free Internet as we know it today—one that remains open to innovation and economic growth, without service providers serving as paid gatekeepers.”
In April, the Donald Trump Administration announced that they want to roll back Obama-era net neutrality rules. Trump’s new FCC head Ajit Pai has said:
“For decades before 2015, we had a free and open Internet. Indeed, the free and open internet developed and flourished under light-touch regulation. We were not living in some digital dystopia before the partisan imposition of a massive plan hatched in Washington saved all of us.”
Net neutrality is the concept that internet service providers (ISPs) can block certain websites that they don’t like for their own personal gain. The “free and open internet” Pai is talking about involved blocking Google Wallet because they have their own payment apps. This is the kind of internet “fuckery” Oliver wants to prevent.
John Oliver has directed people to go to the FCC to try and save net neutrality rules again.
Internet commenters: Visit https://t.co/7BXwaar6k3 and urge the FCC to keep strong net neutrality rules backed by Title II.
— Last Week Tonight (@LastWeekTonight) May 8, 2017
#LastWeekTonight has already crashed the FCC site. Well done @iamjohnoliver well done indeed sir. I'll keep trying until I get through :-). pic.twitter.com/QJBkZTzHwa
— Britton Dowers (@NerdyGeek1206) May 8, 2017
Oliver said:
“Every Internet group needs to come together like you successfully did three years ago … gamers; YouTube celebrities; Instagram models; Tom from MySpace, if you’re still alive. We need all of you. You cannot say you are too busy when 540,000 of you commented on Beyonce’s pregnancy announcement.”
Here is an LA Times graphic explaining net neutrality:
The URL, gofccyourself.com, will take you to the page where you can comment on this issue.
Here is the entire segment from Last Week Tonight with John Oliver:
And here is the first net neutrality segment from three years ago.
Featured image via YouTube screenshot.
