16.6M views · Jun 2, 2014 · 13:18 · 7 HN recommenders · 9 mentions · discussed 2014–2017
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.
Why Hacker News points people here: 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)”HN comment, 2014
“John Oliver did a much better job (and funnier, btw)”
Better and funnier mainstream explanation of net neutrality
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
“this video is 13 minutes well spent”
13 minutes explaining net neutrality, including the FCC chair as a dingo
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"
“He and his team were the most effective drivers for stronger Net Neutrality policies in the US.”
Drove stronger net neutrality policy and drew 12 million views
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
“John Oliver's rant on Net Neutrality (ironically on HBO) sums this up pretty nicely”
Sums up the competition problem behind US bandwidth pricing
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
“John Oliver also talks quite eloquently about this as well”
John Oliver explains the issue eloquently
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
“John Oliver found a good way to explain it”
A good way to explain net neutrality
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.
“For those who want to understand how closely the government is related to those who benefit from NO net-neutrality.”
Shows how government is tied to those who benefit from no net neutrality
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.
“see for example the two John Oliver talks about it”
Example of media coverage of net neutrality
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
Cited for jokes about Obama and the FCC during net neutrality debate
>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
