#41 - Another Big Letdown by Governor Ige
I am going to start a new series on Government and Politics with this being the first episode in the series.
Governor Ige has proven once again that he is a spineless bureaucrat and does not have the balls to stand up for and protect the citizens of Hawaii.
Net Neutrality is a big concern to the citizens of both Hawaii and the rest of the country. In December the FCC voted to end Net Neutrality which prevented internet service providers from discriminating against people in the way they provided internet content.
Without Net Neutrality, ISP's will be able to slow down your internet speed depending on how much you pay them. They are also able to censor the internet by deciding for themselves what content you will have access to in internet searches and what content they do not want you to see. If the ISP does not like the particular content of a provider, they can just not include it in your search results.
This is of particular interest to conservatives, those in the prepper community, libertarians, religious communities, and anyone who speaks out against the mainstream media or government entities, politicians, and pulic servants as their voices could potentially be suppressed by the ISP. There would no longer be a notion of Freedom of Speech on the internet.
On Monday, everyone thought Governor Ige was doing a good thing when he signed Executive Order 18-02 concerning Net Neutrality in Hawaii, however people failed to actually read what the Executive Order actually says. I have added the exact wording of Executive Order 18-02 below:
Executive Order No. 18-02
WHEREAS, the people of Hawai'i expect and rely on the freedom to be connected to all websites, applications and content they desire, without filtering, blocking, prioritization, or throttling of content by Internet Service Providers (ISPs)- a guiding principle called, "net neutrality"; and
WHEREAS, net neutrality preserves the First Amendment right of free speech - the right for people of the Aloha State to communicate and access information freely online; and
WHEREAS, Hawai'i's citizens rely on a free and open internet to participate in the democratic process, research important family and personal decisions, learn and be entertained; and
WHEREAS, net neutrality creates an equal playing field for access to information for our keiki and students for their educational attainment, giving them a chance to thrive while closing the digital divide; and
WHEREAS, net neutrality closes Hawai'i's distance between other states and countries, connecting our islands, which are located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, to the rest of the world, benefiting our economy, commerce and communities by keeping our state open to innovation and economic growth; and
WHEREAS, Hawai'i's government delivers many services through the internet, and imposing restrictions on internet services may affect the quality and availability of such services to its citizens; and
WHEREAS, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently decided to end net neutrality protections; and
WHEREAS, the FCC has indicated that violations of net neutrality principles are best viewed through federal and state trade and business practice laws, which can be enforced by state governments; and
WHEREAS, the State of Hawai'i has a responsibility to ensure the efficient procurement of goods and services for the State and its political subdivisions, and the principles of net neutrality are inherently tied to the provision of high quality and high speed services on the Internet for the State; and
WHEREAS, The State of Hawai'i is a significant purchaser of Internet services;
NOW, THEREFORE, by the authority vested in me by the United States Constitution and laws of the State of Hawai'i, and in order to preserve the basic principle of the free and open exchange of information, secured by a free and open Internet without interference by ISPs for the people of Hawai'i, I, DAVID Y. IGE, Governor of the State of Hawai'i, do hereby determine and order as follows:
I direct all State government agencies to contract Internet-related services only with ISPs who demonstrate and contractually agree to support and practice net neutrality principles where all Internet traffic is treated equally.
I direct all State agencies, including the Department of Accounting and General Services and the State Procurement Office, as the lead procurement agency, to add contract language and provisions to State procurement requirements that suppliers of telecommunications, Internet, broadband, and data communication services shall abide by net neutrality principles, as described herein.
"Net neutrality principles" means the adherence of ISPs to the following: provide access to all lawful content and applications regardless of the source, treat all data fairly without favoring or blocking particular products or websites and without hindering, throttling, restricting, or prioritizing internet content, applications, or certain data streams; and
treat all data on the Internet the same and not discriminate or charge differently by user, content, website, platform, application, service, type of attached equipment, method of communication, source, or ownership.
All contracts entered into, renewed, or extended with ISPs, their agents, or related procuring entities on or after of the effective date of this Executive Order shall include contract requirements as provided herein.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and cause to be affixed the Great Seal of the State of Hawai'i.
DONE at the State Capitol, Honolulu, State of Hawai·i, this 5th day of February, 2018.
DAVID Y. IGE
Governor of Hawai·i
It all sounds good, as long as you don't actually read what it says. This Executive Order only applies to state government agencies within the State of Hawaii, it does not apply to the citizens of Hawaii whatsoever.
In this Executive Order Governor Ige has clearly shown that he has no concern whatsoever for the citizens of Hawaii and their rights to a free, unfiltered, and uncensored internet. As long as the state government agencies have access to a free and uncensored internet he is happy.
What about the citizen's who you are supposed to be serving? You remember us don't you, the ones who allow you to sit in that office? What about our rights to a free and open, unfiltered and uncensored internet?
Once again, Governor Ige has placed yet another divide between the citizens and the government clearly showing that he feels that the citizens that the government is supposed to serve are not as important as the government itself.
Governor Ige, you better start remembering who serves who, and stop putting the governments interests ahead of those of the citizens that it is supposed to serve.
