• _haha_oh_wow_@sh.itjust.works
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    5 months ago

    We already paid for the god damn infrastructure ourselves and the invention of the Internet itself through our tax dollars. Why the hell do ISPs get to profit from it infinitely with almost no meaningful regulation to protect you and me (who, again, already paid for this shit several times over).

    Fun fact: ISPs have received almost half a TRILLION dollars in kickbacks funded by taxpayer dollars on top of everything else. Regulatory capture is a real problem.

    • DominusOfMegadeus@sh.itjust.works
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      5 months ago

      Also, they took billions of government dollars, promising to build out infrastructure, and then…just didn’t. With zero consequences.

      • mhague@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        And because corporations aren’t people, here’s the CEOs that ran things during 2014:

        Hans Vestberg (b 1965) Verizon

        Randall Lynn Stephenson (b 1960) AT&T

        Glen F Post (b 1952) CenturyLink

        We let these people act with impunity in our society but it doesn’t need to be this way. Look at how Elon, who thrives on attention, flips out over being tracked and heckled. They stole hundreds of billions from us but we don’t even act like it.

      • barsquid@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        If only there was some tool available to the government to hold these companies accountable to an agreement. Like some way to document what needs to be done in exchange for the money and be able to receive the money back if that isn’t performed. Oh well.

        • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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          5 months ago

          That’s rank communism and I’m going to report this because our poor mistreated billionaires shouldn’t have to read it from their mother ship Yacht!

          (Can I have free Internet now please Daddy?)