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Hank vs. Hank: The Net Neutrality Debate in 3 Minutes

2014-05-02 · explainer · Hank · 3:43 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Internet & YouTube · mode: Advocacy & fundraising · tags: timely hook, civic or action cta, fundraising ask, song or performance

Hank stages a debate between himself as an internet user and as a cable company, arguing that ISPs should not sell fast lanes, then asks viewers to tell the FCC to classify broadband as a common carrier service.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Setup: Hank will debate net neutrality as an internet user against himself as a cable company

00:00:12 — The debate: definition, BitTorrent and HBO Go, Comcast and Netflix, paying twice, competition, lawyers and lobbyists

  • ★★★ As the internet user, Hank defines net neutrality: internet service providers give access to all of the internet at the same speed whatever the content, with no preference. — 00:00:17

    “the idea that internet service providers should provide access to all of the internet at the same speed”

  • ★★ As the cable company, Hank asks why an ISP should deliver Game of Thrones via BitTorrent at the same speed as through HBO Go. (satire) — 00:00:28

  • ★★ The internet-user Hank says ISPs are not law enforcement and shouldn't decide how users use the service, and fears throttling BitTorrent leads to throttling competitors like Netflix. — 00:00:39
  • ★★★ The internet-user Hank says this already happened: Comcast slowed down Netflix's connection and forced it to pay for faster access to Comcast's customers. — 00:01:01
  • ★★ As the cable company, Hank says Netflix accounts for over 30% of US bandwidth use and asks why all customers should pay for the upgrades it needs. (satire) — 00:01:12
  • ★★ As the cable company, Hank says they would not slow Netflix down to make it pay, only speed it up if it pays. (satire) — 00:01:25
  • ★★★ The internet-user Hank replies that speeding Netflix up without new bandwidth definitionally slows someone else, making the internet a non-level playing field for the first time in American history. — 00:01:32
  • ★★★ The internet-user Hank says what creates great economies is not profit but competition, which the cable companies are trying to destroy. — 00:01:45
  • ★★ As the cable company, Hank says the internet is now a mature industry to be made an economic engine: charge customers for content and content companies for customers, getting paid twice. (satire) — 00:01:53
  • ★★★ The internet-user Hank says the internet is not a business model but a technological, economic and cultural force for good everyone should access equally; middlemen have no right to set speeds. — 00:02:12
  • ★★ As the cable company, Hank says the Netflix deal already set a precedent, the law is complicated, and with the upside they can afford many lawyers and lobbyists. (satire) — 00:02:37

00:02:55 — Out of character: comment to the FCC for common-carrier classification, support organizations, call Congress; Hank distrusts the middlemen

  • ★★★ Out of character, Hank says he is worried and wants the internet in America to remain open and neutral, for selfish and altruistic reasons. — 00:02:58
  • ★★★ Hank asks viewers to comment on the FCC website, which is asking for comments, telling it to classify broadband internet as a common carrier service so telecoms cannot close the internet. — 00:03:06
  • ★★ For longer-term help, Hank points to organizations in the description that hire lawyers and lobbyists against the telecoms, asking for money, time and action, and to call Congress. — 00:03:21 · United States Congress
  • ★★ Hank says he loves the internet and worries what will happen if the middlemen decide what it is like; frankly he does not trust them. — 00:03:33

In the description and comments

  • ★★ Hank says broadband is currently regulated like TV or radio, which makes no sense; he wants it reclassified as a common carrier service. — video description
  • ★★ Hank notes that a comment to the FCC goes into the public record, so commenters must give their real name and address; viewers can also email the FCC directly. — video description
  • ★★ Hank names the organizations fighting the telecoms that viewers can support: Save the Internet, from Free Press, and Public Knowledge. — video description

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: Federal Communications Commission · internet service provider · Net neutrality · Netflix

Also: A Song of Ice and Fire · BitTorrent · Comcast · common carrier · competition (economics) · HBO Go · United States Congress

Only in the description or credits: Free Press · Public Knowledge · Save the Internet

Also centred on Federal Communications Commission: WE WON! Net Neutrality and Re-Thinking Cynicism

Also centred on internet service provider: Net Neutrality in the Shower

Also centred on Net neutrality: Net Neutrality in the Shower · WE WON! Net Neutrality and Re-Thinking Cynicism · Trump, Guns, and Net Neutrality...With Governor Steve Bullock?!

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