Protest In Morse Code: Verizon Mocks Net Neutrality Ruling With Dots And Dashes

Internet users rejoiced when the FCC passed a Net Neutrality ruling stating that providers cannot control which customers get better internet service. Unsurprisingly, Verizon did not like this ruling, viewing it as an antiquated method for controlling 21st century companies. The company protested the ruling in a press release written in Morse code.

Morse code was a form of communications dating back to the 1920s. Letters were assigned a series of dots, dashes, or both. It could be written down or transmitted by sound. Morse code was used to send messages over a wire system, much like landline phones.

Verizon Communications Inc. viewed the ruling as something out of the 1930s in a press release titled, “FCC’s ‘Throwback Thursday’ Move Imposes 1930s Rules on the Internet.”

Verizon later released a translated version that was dated February 26, 1934. The translated version was complete with an old typewriter font. The press release is a statement from Verizon’s Senior Vice President, Michael E. Glover.

“The FCC’s move is especially regrettable because it is wholly unnecessary. The FCC had targeted tools available to preserve an open Internet, but instead chose to use this order as an excuse to adopt 300-plus pages of broad and open-ended regulatory arcana that will have unintended negative consequences for consumers and various parts of the Internet ecosystem for years to come.”

Bloomberg Business reports, the Federal Communications Commission ruled, in a 3-2 vote, that internet providers cannot block, slow or prioritize internet traffic. Many fear the this ruling will discourage internet growth an investment.

Internet providers like Verizon believe that Net Neutrality will prevent them from keeping the internet running smoothly. In 2012, Verizon argued that Net Neutrality infringes on its First and Fifth Amendment rights.

In the Morse code protest, Glover assures consumers that Verizon will still be there for them.

“What has been and will remain constant before, during and after the existence of any regulations is Verizon’s commitment to an open Internet that provides consumers with competitive broadband choices and Internet access when, where, and how they want.”

Without the Net Neutrality ruling there was a very good chance we would be paying handsomely for the “when, where, and how [we] want.”

Do you think the Morse code protest was a good move by Verizon? Will the mockery of the FCC make the company seem childish?

[Photo Courtesy of Reg Speller/Stringer/Getty Images]