AT&T Rejects $100M Fine From FCC

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It must be nice to be a huge company that can just "reject" $100 million fines because you don't agree with it. The next time I get a speeding ticket, I'm going to "reject" the fine and see what happens. :rolleyes:

AT&T refuses to pay the FCC the $100 million fine it got slapped with, claiming that it didn't keep data throttling a secret from its subscribers at all. Ma Bell was given with such a hefty penalty, because the agency determined that it slowed down subscribers' "unlimited" internet connections after they've used a particular amount of data without letting them know.
 
The FCC should start process to seize their assets.. and make ATT pay for the extra expenses in doing so by seizing in excess of $100M assets.
 
Wow, AT&T is pretty ballsy, or stupid, to think they can simply refuse to pay the FCC their fines and fees. All the FCC needs to do is leverage the companies assets against the fines and fees and eventually they will be paid in full + additional fees and interests.
 
Nothing but a ploy to start a lawsuit... for which the appropriate judges and politicians will be paid off so it eventually not only ends in AT&Ts favor, but they get even more things they are asking for.

Greedy, evil, bastards all need to DIAF
 
I wish I could wake up in the morning and writer a letter that says:

Dear Discover,

Fuck You.

Your former customer, who owes you 100m.
 
No matter your feelings on AT&T, any time a corporation tells the government to effectively f-off, you gotta love it and root for the person or company doing it. The FCC is just another reason why our government is so jacked up.
 
derek533 said:
No matter your feelings on AT&T, any time a corporation tells the government to effectively f-off, you gotta love it and root for the person or company doing it. The FCC is just another reason why our government is so jacked up.
Click to expand...

The hell?!? Yeah, let's root for ATT to be able to not disclose things about the service they are selling to the public. Nice logic Cletus
 
derek533 said:
No matter your feelings on AT&T, any time a corporation tells the government to effectively f-off, you gotta love it and root for the person or company doing it. The FCC is just another reason why our government is so jacked up.
Click to expand...

Yeah, no I don't have to love it. There seems to be a few groups of people here on [H]
1) Those who hate everything about the government, basically disliking of "the man". There can also be subsets that are specific to a particular politics view (i.e. this board seems to be heavily anti-liberal)
2) Those who hate everything about mega corps, so fuck them even if they are in the right.
3) Those who hate anyone who fucks with anything that stifles the internet in any way.

I find myself a mix between 2 and 3, not strictly anti-corp, but lets be honest... and yeah fuck anyone who slows the internet down all in the name of maximizing profits.
 
derek533 said:
No matter your feelings on AT&T, any time a corporation tells the government to effectively f-off, you gotta love it and root for the person or company doing it. The FCC is just another reason why our government is so jacked up.
Click to expand...

aaand, it's exactly this kind of backwoods yokel mindset that is why this country is in such bad shape.

Here's a hint... it's not the big bad gub'ment that you need to be so afraid of... it's the corporations.

Although at this point, the corporations have basically bought out the government while we weren't paying attention and are well on the way to making us their consumer/worker slaves... so I suppose it doesn't much matter any more...
 
Huh... you can "reject" your fine for a speeding ticket and take your day in court. This is what AT&T is doing, they are not settling and going to court.

I am no fan of AT&T but it is laughable that some on here think the FCC is going to fix the interwebz.
 
sfsuphysics said:
Yeah, no I don't have to love it. There seems to be a few groups of people here on [H]
1) Those who hate everything about the government, basically disliking of "the man". There can also be subsets that are specific to a particular politics view (i.e. this board seems to be heavily anti-liberal)
2) Those who hate everything about mega corps, so fuck them even if they are in the right.
3) Those who hate anyone who fucks with anything that stifles the internet in any way.

I find myself a mix between 2 and 3, not strictly anti-corp, but lets be honest... and yeah fuck anyone who slows the internet down all in the name of maximizing profits.
Click to expand...


If I don't like a corporation (like AT&T) I just take my business elsewhere (like T-Mobile)

If I don't like what the federal government is doing, I don't have much of a choice unless I want to move out of the country.

Big difference, and huge cost difference to me.
 
WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot said:
aaand, it's exactly this kind of backwoods yokel mindset that is why this country is in such bad shape.

Here's a hint... it's not the big bad gub'ment that you need to be so afraid of... it's the corporations.
Click to expand...

Insulting him is really going to get your point across and make you look like the good guy. :rolleyes:
 
XvMMvX said:
I am no fan of AT&T but it is laughable that some on here think the FCC is going to fix the interwebz.
Click to expand...

I'm not counting on the FCC to fix the internet.... I'm worried that xyz corporation will hijack the internet and basically extort the common folk for more $$$.
 
WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot said:
aaand, it's exactly this kind of backwoods yokel mindset that is why this country is in such bad shape.

Here's a hint... it's not the big bad gub'ment that you need to be so afraid of... it's the corporations.

Although at this point, the corporations have basically bought out the government while we weren't paying attention and are well on the way to making us their consumer/worker slaves... so I suppose it doesn't much matter any more...
Click to expand...

No, it's the assumption the government can solve all out problems that's the big issue.

So who is more corrupt?
The person who can be bought (i.e the government), or the person doing the buying (the corporations) ?
I'd have to say it's the former, because if the government wasn't for sale, then companies would have to go back to competing the old fashion way, with each other instead of buying their way to success.
 
Poorly worded article. AT&T isn't refusing to pay the fine so much as they are filing an appeal. Standard legal procedure.
 
nutzo said:
No, it's the assumption the government can solve all out problems that's the big issue.

So who is more corrupt?
The person who can be bought (i.e the government), or the person doing the buying (the corporations) ?
I'd have to say it's the former, because if the government wasn't for sale, then companies would have to go back to competing the old fashion way, with each other instead of buying their way to success.
Click to expand...

Your error is in assuming that companies ever competed in this fantasized old-fashioned way you speak of...

From the time of royals and serfs, to the founding of this country (as a country designed from the top down to be a way for the wealthy elite to control the masses) there has always been collusion, corruption, and money has ruled all...

It's only with tighter central government and regulation of corporations that this kind of behavior is somewhat curtailed and controlled.

Yes, government is corrupt. Such is human nature. We are greedy, selfish, violent animals... but we also have the choice to rise above our base nature.

The bottom line is this, if you look at the differences between Europe and the U.S., one of the biggest differences is the way government and corporations are viewed.

Here, we worship them, and there they fear them. They actually have laws that prevent a lot of the crap that goes on here, and have much greater privacy rights and protections for their people.

Of course this is on top of the better education, healthcare, and standards of living.. but that's a whole other discussion.

Go 'murica! We're #1 .... er... well, actually we *generally* just barely make the top 20 in nearly all important world wide ranking... but if Fox News has taught us nothing else, you can repeat lies and bullshit over and over, and the ignorant will eat it up and repeat it like good little programmed sheep.
 
WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot said:
...
It's only with tighter central government and regulation of corporations that this kind of behavior (collusion, corruption, and money has ruled all) is somewhat curtailed and controlled.
...
Click to expand...

LOL Tighter Central government is the way to fix corruption, said no competent, sane, or rational person EVER.

And of course, the Fox line and allusion to Sheep. Because of course! Why wouldn't you?

Man is this like paint by numbers satire, or are you being serious bro?
 
derek533 said:
No matter your feelings on AT&T, any time a corporation tells the government to effectively f-off, you gotta love it and root for the person or company doing it. The FCC is just another reason why our government is so jacked up.
Click to expand...

Actually, I love it when the government punishes/fines corporate corruption. Corporate America is jacked up.
 
flashoverride said:
LOL Tighter Central government is the way to fix corruption, said no competent, sane, or rational person EVER.

And of course, the Fox line and allusion to Sheep. Because of course! Why wouldn't you?

Man is this like paint by numbers satire, or are you being serious bro?
Click to expand...

Yes, let's go back to the pre-regulation days of Standard Oil, and US Steel or heck, even recent of Ma Bell version one. We could even take a glimpse at how deregulation in the 2000's led to the meltdown of 2008, but that'd be too easy.

We can hate on government all we want and hope or pray for smaller government, but there's certain aspects of it that we must have for our country to work. Otherwise the rich powerful corporations will simply run amok and do whatever they want.

Without the FCC or FTC we'd lack systems to control the airwaves and keep people honest. That means that a lot of things we use would simply not work because of interference (remember, FCC enforces spectrum) with other stuff. AT&T would become AT&T-Verizon while bankrupting T-Mo and Sprint. So you better love $149mo "unlimited" (but limited) cell phone plans. Comcast would block your Netflix/Hulu unless you paid them an access fee.

You need to think big picture, what free unregulated access would bring. You can't think about "the good in people", instead, you have to realize that greed > everything-else.
 
Spidey329 said:
We could even take a glimpse at how deregulation in the 2000's led to the meltdown of 2008, but that'd be too easy.
Click to expand...

The Community Reinvestment Act led to the 2008 meltdown. Reality is the opposite of what you claim.
 
Spidey329 said:
Yes, let's go back to the pre-regulation days of Standard Oil, and US Steel or heck, even recent of Ma Bell version one. We could even take a glimpse at how deregulation in the 2000's led to the meltdown of 2008, but that'd be too easy.

We can hate on government all we want and hope or pray for smaller government, but there's certain aspects of it that we must have for our country to work. Otherwise the rich powerful corporations will simply run amok and do whatever they want.

Without the FCC or FTC we'd lack systems to control the airwaves and keep people honest. That means that a lot of things we use would simply not work because of interference (remember, FCC enforces spectrum) with other stuff. AT&T would become AT&T-Verizon while bankrupting T-Mo and Sprint. So you better love $149mo "unlimited" (but limited) cell phone plans. Comcast would block your Netflix/Hulu unless you paid them an access fee.

You need to think big picture, what free unregulated access would bring. You can't think about "the good in people", instead, you have to realize that greed > everything-else.
Click to expand...

You understand there's a massive space in between absolute dictatorial Central Government and Anarchy, right? You can be opposed to tight-fisted centralized government without being an advocate for anarchy. We can argue about where on that scale we should be without straw-manning all over the place. One can say that the FCC is overstepping it bounds or acting outside its scope without saying that the FCC should be disbanded.

It's a very odd statement you make about pre-regulation as it pertains to AT&T, as for a long time it was in fact a government sanctioned and regulated monopoly.
 
Spidey329 said:
Yes, let's go back to the pre-regulation days of Standard Oil, and US Steel or heck, even recent of Ma Bell version one. We could even take a glimpse at how deregulation in the 2000's led to the meltdown of 2008, but that'd be too easy.

We can hate on government all we want and hope or pray for smaller government, but there's certain aspects of it that we must have for our country to work. Otherwise the rich powerful corporations will simply run amok and do whatever they want.

Without the FCC or FTC we'd lack systems to control the airwaves and keep people honest. That means that a lot of things we use would simply not work because of interference (remember, FCC enforces spectrum) with other stuff. AT&T would become AT&T-Verizon while bankrupting T-Mo and Sprint. So you better love $149mo "unlimited" (but limited) cell phone plans. Comcast would block your Netflix/Hulu unless you paid them an access fee.

You need to think big picture, what free unregulated access would bring. You can't think about "the good in people", instead, you have to realize that greed > everything-else.
Click to expand...

State privilege.
Rent-seeking.
Barriers to entry.

Contrast:

AirBNB
Uber
BitCoin
 
derek533 said:
No matter your feelings on AT&T, any time a corporation tells the government to effectively f-off, you gotta love it and root for the person or company doing it. The FCC is just another reason why our government is so jacked up.
Click to expand...

I don't care how big the load is you are willing to swallow, AT&T isn't going to reward you after.
 
Well with this mentality I'm just going to reject the bills they send me. Should go over fine.
 
Anyone can always "reject" an administrative fine. It just means a court gets to review the FCCs cause of action and AT&Ts defensive claims against it.

You can even "reject" your speeding ticket - in which case the mechanism is pleading not guilty a taking it to a trial.
 
WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot said:
aaand, it's exactly this kind of backwoods yokel mindset that is why this country is in such bad shape.

Here's a hint... it's not the big bad gub'ment that you need to be so afraid of... it's the corporations.

Although at this point, the corporations have basically bought out the government while we weren't paying attention and are well on the way to making us their consumer/worker slaves... so I suppose it doesn't much matter any more...
Click to expand...

Pretty much hit the nail on the head with this post.
 
WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot said:
Your error is in assuming that companies ever competed in this fantasized old-fashioned way you speak of...

From the time of royals and serfs, to the founding of this country (as a country designed from the top down to be a way for the wealthy elite to control the masses) there has always been collusion, corruption, and money has ruled all...

It's only with tighter central government and regulation of corporations that this kind of behavior is somewhat curtailed and controlled.

Yes, government is corrupt. Such is human nature. We are greedy, selfish, violent animals... but we also have the choice to rise above our base nature.

The bottom line is this, if you look at the differences between Europe and the U.S., one of the biggest differences is the way government and corporations are viewed.

Here, we worship them, and there they fear them. They actually have laws that prevent a lot of the crap that goes on here, and have much greater privacy rights and protections for their people.

Of course this is on top of the better education, healthcare, and standards of living.. but that's a whole other discussion.

Go 'murica! We're #1 .... er... well, actually we *generally* just barely make the top 20 in nearly all important world wide ranking... but if Fox News has taught us nothing else, you can repeat lies and bullshit over and over, and the ignorant will eat it up and repeat it like good little programmed sheep.
Click to expand...


So much wrong in one place...

You basically have it backwards. It's the freedoms and limited government that allowed the US to the greatest super power this world has know, and to provide for a better standard of living for the most people than any country in history.

The reason I'd trust a corporation more than the government, is that no corporation can force me to do something I don't want to do, or buy something I don't want. If I don't like their business practices (or even if I don't like the groups they support or color of their logo), I can take me business elsewhere. Corporations will give me discounts or even offer me stuff for free to get my business.

Government however operates at the point of a gun. If I don't want to buy/pay for what government is selling, armed men will eventually show up at my door, arrest me, and throw me in jail.

I don't know about you, buy I don't worship corporation or the government. And while we do need laws to keep people/corporations reasonable honest, I prefer to keep them as simple and open as possible and let the free market decide.

As for Europe having better Education, I will partially give you that, but the problem with education in the US is too much government. The worse schools are in big government supporting inner cities, while the best schools are private or in small government/more conservative areas.

As for Heath care, it really depends on how you define best. Europe has cheaper health care, but at the cost of quality and availability. If I have a major illness, I'd rather be in the US with good insurance than in most European countries.

Same with standard of living. Most people in the US have larger homes, more land, etc. Guess it depends on what you consider important.

As for bashing Fox News, that just shows how biased to the left you really are.
 
sfsuphysics said:
Yeah, no I don't have to love it. There seems to be a few groups of people here on [H]
1) Those who hate everything about the government, basically disliking of "the man". There can also be subsets that are specific to a particular politics view (i.e. this board seems to be heavily anti-liberal)
2) Those who hate everything about mega corps, so fuck them even if they are in the right.
3) Those who hate anyone who fucks with anything that stifles the internet in any way.

I find myself a mix between 2 and 3, not strictly anti-corp, but lets be honest... and yeah fuck anyone who slows the internet down all in the name of maximizing profits.
Click to expand...

I'm between 1 and 3.
 
WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot said:
aaand, it's exactly this kind of backwoods yokel mindset that is why this country is in such bad shape.

Here's a hint... it's not the big bad gub'ment that you need to be so afraid of... it's the corporations.

Although at this point, the corporations have basically bought out the government while we weren't paying attention and are well on the way to making us their consumer/worker slaves... so I suppose it doesn't much matter any more...
Click to expand...

Really? So corporations can print money, tax you, enforce through law, have a standing army and a create police forces and multiple alphabet agencies to come after you? Shit. that's news to me. When did this happen?
 
nutzo said:
So much wrong in one place...

You basically have it backwards. It's the freedoms and limited government that allowed the US to the greatest super power this world has know, and to provide for a better standard of living for the most people than any country in history.
Click to expand...

You do realize we have more people living in poverty, homeless, or in prison than any other first world country, right?

The reason I'd trust a corporation more than the government, is that no corporation can force me to do something I don't want to do, or buy something I don't want. If I don't like their business practices (or even if I don't like the groups they support or color of their logo), I can take me business elsewhere. Corporations will give me discounts or even offer me stuff for free to get my business.

Government however operates at the point of a gun. If I don't want to buy/pay for what government is selling, armed men will eventually show up at my door, arrest me, and throw me in jail.
Click to expand...

The line between corporation and government is far finer than you realize. And just FYI, many corporation make most of their profits by explicitly forcing people to do things they don't want to do, or brainwashing them to believe otherwise.

I don't know about you, buy I don't worship corporation or the government. And while we do need laws to keep people/corporations reasonable honest, I prefer to keep them as simple and open as possible and let the free market decide.
Click to expand...
Free market = fantasy and illusion. Never has existed, and when it comes closest to being truly free and open is when people get screwed over the most

As for Europe having better Education, I will partially give you that, but the problem with education in the US is too much government. The worse schools are in big government supporting inner cities, while the best schools are private or in small government/more conservative areas.
Click to expand...
You are correct that inner cities have poor schools, but this is do to poverty and nothing to do with "big government support". If you think however that conservative areas have the best schools, you are dead wrong. The most conservative areas are, without fail, the worst economically, socially, and education-wise outside of inner city areas. This is an undeniable statistical fact. "Red states" and conservative areas are ALWAYS at the bottom of the barrel in pretty much everything.

The best education systems tend to be in progressive, and yes, richer, areas. No surprise there.

As for bashing Fox News, that just shows how biased to the left you really are.
Click to expand...
[/QUOTE]

The Fox News bit was a joke, but that fact that you would take it seriously only serves to show your true colors, and ignorance and inability to have an actual rational conversation.

Fox News isn't news. It isn't "conservative" any more than other media is "liberal"... because here's another hint that anyone who has actually seen the world and doesn't have such a myopic backwoods world view could verify....

ALL MEDIA IN THE UNITED STATES IS CONSERVATIVE.

Some more so than others, but Fox News is just the batshit insane melodrama entertainment that caters to hillbilly inbreeds and trailer park white trash too ignorant to know reality from fantasy...

It's a pretty simple thing to figure out though, "conservatives" by nature, tend to be upper class, entitled, rich white folk, religious nut jobs, or by and large, uneducated, ignorant rural people.

There is a reason most people with higher education tend to be progressive, and those with an IQ approaching mentally retarded watch Fox News.
 
Methadras said:
Really? So corporations can print money, tax you, enforce through law, have a standing army and a create police forces and multiple alphabet agencies to come after you? Shit. that's news to me. When did this happen?
Click to expand...

Corporations do basically print money

Corporations do tax you in many different ways (and moreso than government)

Corporations do have private security forces that are, often times, above the law

And corporations do write the laws that then they pay the politicians to pass for them so they can send alphabet agencies after you...

You need to pay better attention.
 
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