Net Neutrality: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) on HackerTube: recommended by 7 Hacker News commenters across 6 separate months, 2014–2017.
commentary · dated
John Oliver's 13-minute Last Week Tonight segment explains the 2014 net neutrality fight over cable companies creating unequal internet speeds. It uses comedy to make a dull regulatory topic engaging and tells viewers how to comment to the FCC.
HN commenters use it as the go-to funny, accessible explanation of net neutrality and credit it with driving public comments to the FCC.
“John Oliver did a much better job (and funnier, btw)”
9 Hacker News comments link this video. Each one links back to its thread.
What can a "hacker" possibly have against John Oliver? He and his team were the most effective drivers for stronger Net Neutrality policies in the US. The man is a living legend. Edit: 12 million views on the abstract topic of Net Neutrality. That's what I would call a feat indeed: ▶ this video
in “European Union dedicated questionnaire on the Encryption of Data” · View on HN
In case you haven't seen John Oliver's take on Net Neutrality, this video is 13 minutes well spent: ▶ this video "Tom Wheeler is [like] a dingo"
in “The Net Neutrality Bait and Switch” · View on HN
What was that? I am so disappointed to see that they featured a video showing net neutrality being ONLY about facebook, youtube and more video streaming... If they wanted to go mainstream, John Oliver did a much better job (and funnier, btw) ▶ this video
in “There Are Only Two Weeks Left to Comment on Net Neutrality” · View on HN
John Oliver found a good way to explain it: ▶ this video [link] The problem is that ISP shills that make these decisions don't care about public opposition. They aren't elected officials.
in “FCC plan would give Internet providers power to choose the sites customers see” · View on HN
While we are on the topic, may I bring up John Oliver's June 1 2014 episode. ▶ this video tl;dw - For those who want to understand how closely the government is related to those who benefit from NO net-neutrality.
in “Join the Battle for Net Neutrality” · View on HN
I have Comcast as well and it's gotten because of the deal Netflix struck with them... [link] EDIT: John Oliver also talks quite eloquently about this as well: ▶ this video
in “Verizon's accidental mea culpa” · View on HN
I agree that our bandwidth to price ratio is shitty in this country. But until we have viable competition in THIS country, our rates won't come down. John Oliver's rant on Net Neutrality (ironically on HBO) sums this up pretty nicely: ▶ this video
in “Netflix responds to Verizon” · View on HN
>Nothing but damn lies. Please review the civility guidelines. If nothing else, mischaracterizing a clearly-labeled presumptive statement as a "damn lie" reveals your malice and discredits your POV. As I alluded to in the grandparent, it was not at all obvious that the FCC or other elements of the Obama administration were working toward net neutrality when the jokes about Obama leaving the baby to the dingos were getting flung around. [0] > What burden of net neutrality repeal? There was no burden because there was no requirement to repeal NN. It was clear that ISPs did not fit the legal definition of Title II carriers which is why they weren't just classified as such at the beginning. It was clear that it was not likely that they would retain this classification, whether a Democrat won the next cycle and a successful lawsuit overturned the rulings or whether the FCC undid it as is the case now with Ajit Pai (whose primary contention, by the way, is not that net neutrality shouldn't exist, just that Title II is not an appropriate regulatory framework in which to cast it). Of course, in politics, all that really matters is brownie points, so as long as the public sees you as the good guy, then you win and it doesn't matter if a judge overturns everything you've done. Obama made liberal use of this principle, and in some cases his staff would openly discuss the expectation that some executive action would not survive judicial review. Obama was pretty bad about his respect for
in “F.C.C. Repeals Net Neutrality Rules” · View on HN
I thought this was quite high, since the net neutrality issue had a lot of coverage in the media, see for example the two John Oliver talks about it: ▶ this video [link]
in “72% of Consumers Don't Know What Net Neutrality Is” · View on HN