Last year we won the open internet back, but the new regulations had one big weakness: they didn’t explicitly ban a scheme called “ #zerorating .” Zero rating is a poison pill wrapped in a piece of cheese; it looks like a good thing for consumers (free video!), but ultimately has the capability to rot competition and the open internet. The #FCC decided it would look at zero rating schemes on a case-by-case basis, which left the door open for wireless companies to play their usual games. #ATT just broke that door off its hinges. Last night AT&T made a dim prophecy official by announcing that its new #DirecTV Now streaming service would be zero rated: it won’t count against its customers’ data caps. Zero rating isn’t new — T-Mobile has been writing the manual on how to get away with it — but now it’s finally happening at a scale that matters. And AT&T’s version is much worse than #T-Mobile ’s.
http://www.theverge.com/2016/11/29/13774648/fcc-att-zero-rating-directv-net-neutrality-vs-tmobile
