Trump Appoints Third Net Neutrality Critic to FCC Advisory Team President-elect Trump today added yet another fierce critic of net neutrality to his FCC transition team. The incoming President chose Roslyn Layton, a visiting fellow at the broadband-industry-funded American Enterprise Institute, to help select the new FCC boss and guide the Trump administration on telecom policy. Layton joins Jeffrey Eisenach, a former Verizon consultant and vocal net neutrality critic, and Mark Jamison, a former Sprint lobbyist that has also fought tooth and nail against net neutrality; recently going so far as to argue he doesn't think telecom monopolies exist.

Like Eisenach and Jamison, Layton has made a career out of fighting relentlessly against most of the FCC's more consumer-focused efforts, including net neutrality, consumer privacy rules, and increased competition in the residential broadband space. Back in October, Layton posted an article to the AEI blog proclaiming that the FCC's new privacy rules, which give consumers greater control over how their data is collected and sold, were somehow part of a "partisan endgame of corporate favoritism" that weren't necessary and only confused customers. The FCC pursued the rules after it was found that Verizon was covertly modifying user packets to track users around the internet -- without informing them or letting them opt out. The FCC argued such rules were necessary because of limited broadband competition. Broadband providers vehemently opposed the rules, in large part because they hope to expand into online content and marketing in attempts to challenge Google and Facebook. Layton also has made it abundantly clear she supports zero rating, the practice of letting ISPs give their own (or high paying partners') content cap-exemption and therefore a competitive advantage in the market. She has similarly, again like Eisenach and Jamison, supported rolling back the FCC's classification of ISPs as common carriers under Title II, which would kill the existing net neutrality rules and greatly weaken the FCC's ability to protect consumers. Consumer advocacy groups like Free Press Consumer advocacy groups like Free Press have stated that Trump's telecom advisors have "habitually opposed the communications rights of real people, prioritizing instead the monopoly-minded views of companies like AT&T, Comcast and Verizon." That's a severe disconnect from the "populist" platform Trump ran on pre-election (including claims he'd break up Comcast NBC Universal), especially since many of the FCC's more recent consumer actions have broad, bipartisan support among end users.







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Dryvlyne

Far Beyond Driven

Premium Member

join:2004-08-30

Newark, OH 17 recommendations Dryvlyne Premium Member Not surprising I'm pretty sure Trump doesn't even know what net neutrality means as I'm sure most people don't. I wouldn't be shocked if most people in Congress even know what it means... They are after all informed by lobbyists that are against it.

Kett2000

Premium Member

join:2002-04-23

Lilburn, GA 11 recommendations Kett2000 Premium Member R.I.P. Net Neutrality Anyone want to take bets on how long it will take until the Title II: Reclassification is stripped back to Pre-Wheeler days... Rekrul

join:2007-04-21

Milford, CT 4 recommendations Rekrul Member Even if Trump... Even if Trump actually understood exactly what net neutrality was, why does anyone think he'd be in favor of it? Whatever money he has, he made by ripping people off. He has a long history of refusing to pay people and small companies for their services. What makes you think that he'd suddenly want to help all the peasants that he himself has stepped on, on his way to the top?



When Trump is out and about, how much money do you think he drops into those Salvation Army buckets outside stores? Normal people usually put in a dollar if they can spare it. Want to bet that Trump walks right past them?