USA: FCC & ISP en omkoping overheidsfunctionarissen?

Bron 1: www.theverge.com/2017/12/11/16746230/net-neutrality-fcc-isp-congress-campaign-contribution
11 dec. 2018

CONGRESS TOOK $101 MILLION IN DONATIONS FROM THE ISP INDUSTRY — HERE’S HOW MUCH YOUR LAWMAKER GOT

ISP staat voor Internet Service Provider

Comcast, Verizon, AT&T, and others spread their money far and wide to influence your government

By T.C. Sottek and The Center for Responsive Politics

The FCC is about to give massive internet service providers the power to divide the internet. It is at risk of becoming unrecognizable. A vital global utility that has been a boon to creative and economic freedom for people around the world may be turned into a twisted land of tolls and corporate control.

FCC staat voor Federal Communications Commission

The stakes are high. The internet now touches every town, every city, and every single one of us — whether we use it or not. Those who control the network control the future.

THOSE WHO CONTROL THE NETWORK CONTROL THE FUTURE

The FCC is the current venue for this fight, but Congress will eventually intervene. As telecom expert Susan Crawford argues, the FCC is “being outrageous” to force Congress’ involvement. And both net neutrality advocates and the telecom industry have asked for lawmakers to act. Advocates believe a law will make net neutrality more durable. But ISPs are betting they’ll be able to write the bill — because they’ve paid for the opportunity.

In March, we published a story that showed contributions from the ISP industry to members of Congress who voted to repeal a landmark FCC privacy rule, opening the door to the sale of customer data. It was one of our most popular stories of the year, and many of you asked why we only published contributions to some members of Congress. Incidentally, every one of the 265 members who voted for the measure in March were Republicans. And many of those same members endorse the effort to end net neutrality.

But it’s fair to want to see monetary influence across all of Congress. While it is clear that alignment with the ISPs is currently drawn along party lines, the industry’s attempt to gain favor with lawmakers is not partisan. Entrenched telecommunications companies liberally spread money and attention to everyone who holds office. Sometimes that influence comes in the form of lavish parties with Olympic athletes and lobbyists, but consistently it comes in the form of contributions to campaigns.

It’s impossible to quantify the overall influence of this powerful industry, but we can chart some of it. Below you will find contributions to individual members of Congress, and those members’ leadership PACs, from 1989 to the present day. This money came from the telecommunication industry’s own PACs, their individual members or employees or owners, and those individuals’ immediate families. This data was prepared for The Verge by The Center for Responsive Politics: an independent, non-partisan nonprofit research group that tracks money in US politics and its effect on elections and public policy.

Voor de illustraties, de lijst van congresleden e.d. en de bedragen die ze (vooral voor verkiezingsprogramma's ontvingen zie de link bovenaan, het totale bedrag over de jaren 1989 tot nu bedraagt $ 101 miljoen. Bovenaan de lijst staat John McCain met een ontvangen bedrag van $ 2.554.784,-

Bron 2: www.comparitech.com/internet-providers/isp-lobbying/
29 mei 2019
How much does your ISP spend on lobbying?

Internet service providers in the United States have spent more than $1.2 billion on lobbying since 1998, and 2018 was the biggest year so far with a total spend of more than $80 million.

Comparitech researchers compiled and analyzed 51 ISPs’ lobbying expenses from the US Senate’s Lobbying Disclosure Act database, which dates back to 1998.

Here are the highlights of our analysis:

. 2018 was the biggest year yet for ISP lobbying at $80 million.
. Top spenders include AT&T, Verizon, and Comcast, which have amassed lobbying expenses of $341 million, $265 million, and $200 million, respectively since 1998.
. Since 2011, yearly spending on lobbying across all ISPs hasn’t strayed below $72 million.
. The largest amount spent by any provider in any year was AT&T in 1999, at almost $23 million. AT&T’s acquisition of Ameritech Corp accounted for much of this, and the merger eventually led to the creation of America’s largest telecom company.
. Total spend from 2016 to 2019 is set to exceed lobbying expenses between 2012 and 2015, which totaled $295 million.
. Lobbying in favor of mergers and acquisitions accounted for many of the biggest expenses for individual ISPs in a single year.
. $1.2 billion has been spent by ISPs on lobbying since 1998.

See further the link above



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