Growth Wanes at Instacart, GopuffRead more

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer unveil the Save the Internet Act earlier in March. Photo by AP.

Behind Washington’s Net Neutrality Debate: Deep Pockets

By  |  March 16, 2019 7:46 AM PDT
Photo: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer unveil the Save the Internet Act earlier in March. Photo by AP.

Sometime in the next two weeks, a billboard is set to pop up at a busy intersection in downtown Phoenix accusing Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema of “corruption.” Her supposed crime: she doesn’t support the “Save The Internet Act,” a bill that would codify into law the Net Neutrality rules revoked by the Trump administration’s Federal Communications Commission in 2017. She’s in fact the only Democratic member of the Senate who doesn’t support the bill, according to Evan Greer, deputy director of the internet activist group responsible for the billboard.

The scorched earth tactic is the latest twist in the decade-long battle over Net Neutrality rules that come and go as the White House—and therefore control of the FCC—changes hands. Every time FCC rules change, aggrieved companies on one side or other challenge the policy in federal court. The end result: seemingly permanent uncertainty over rules meant to ensure that the companies providing access to the Internet—Comcast, Charter, Verizon and AT&T—don’t use their position to undermine internet competition and freedom of speech.

Access on the go
View stories on our mobile app and tune into our weekly podcast.
Join live video Q&A’s
Deep-dive into topics like startups and autonomous vehicles with our top reporters and other executives.
Enjoy a clutter-free experience
Read without any banner ads.
Art by Clark Miller.
Exclusive startups crypto
MoonPay CEO, Other Executives Cashed Out Before Crypto Business Dropped
In November 2021, just as crypto prices were hitting all-time highs, MoonPay—a crypto payments startup that celebrities including Jimmy Fallon and Paris Hilton had praised for its non-fungible token “concierge” service— announced it had completed its first ever outside fundraising: an eye-popping $555 million round at a $3.4 billion valuation from investors including Tiger Global Management and Coatue Management.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Photo by Bloomberg
semiconductors ai
Why Nvidia Aids Cloud Rivals of AWS, Google and Microsoft
Nvidia’s business of selling chips for artificial intelligence is going gangbusters, but the company faces a looming problem.
Instacart CEO Fidji Simo. Photo by Getty.
Exclusive startups Finance
Growth Wanes at Instacart, Gopuff
Grocery upstarts Instacart and Gopuff haven’t been able to deliver two things at once this year: growth and profits.
Tim Cook. Photo by Bloomberg
Exclusive apple ar/vr
Apple’s Learning Curve: How Headset’s Design Caused Production Challenges
If Apple unveils its long-awaited mixed-reality headset next week as expected, it will represent the company’s riskiest gamble on a new product since the iPhone.
Art by Clark Miller, Shutterstock (4)
Opinion ar/vr
Don’t Count the Metaverse Out
The technology hype cycle would have us believe that the metaverse—so recently the darling of digital trendsetters—is on the decline, its place usurped by generative artificial intelligence.
Mixed hydroxide precipitate, the go-to feedstock for battery nickel sulfate, on a conveyor belt at Indonesia's Harita Group, which pioneered the process. Photo: Dimas Ardian/Bloomberg
The Electric electric vehicles
The Electric: Western Auto and Battery Makers’ Big Gamble on Indonesian Nickel
For much of the last century, metals companies have made stainless steel from nickel mined in Russia or the Philippines and smelted at temperatures up to 2,900 degrees.