A very short while ago, the news came in that after months of strenuous debate, the FCC had voted 3-2 in favor of reclassifying internet services as a utility. This now meant that the FCC had some ability to enforce the rules sought by those in favor of Net Neutrality. In short, this was a big win for Net Neutrality supporters. In spite of how actively those in favor of the campaign (spearheaded by the FCC’s Tom Wheeler) spoke out, the other side of the debate, the naysayers, have been just as vocal in announcing their opposition. These have best been summed up as those who provide the internet (the ISPs) and as such, it does seem obvious that they would favor the status quo. That said, there is some neutral debate to their logic. The main reasoning being put forward by the opposition is that they do not want the internet (in any capacity) being regulated by anyone (or in any capacity). In short, keep the internet free. By bringing in regulation, the naysayers see this as a step back in time.
It seems that is certainly the viewpoint by Version. Minutes after the news broke that the FCC had voted in favor of Net Neutrality, Verizon issued what was evidently a pre-prepared statement. That said, this was unlike any statement you have ever seen from Verizon. Instead, of simply making public their dislike for the decision, they decided to issue their press release in Morse code. The image above shows exactly how the press release appeared on their policy blog. The idea behind the Morse code was Verizon’s attempt to highlight how today’s vote was actually a backward thinking move. In fact. the Morse code announcement link came entitled “FCC’s ‘Throwback Thursday’ Move Imposes 1930s Rules on the Internet” (not in morse code for those who are wondering).
You can see the actual Morse code release in full by clicking the source link below. For those who are not versed in Morse code, Verizon did also publish the announcement normally and you can view this by clicking here. The sum of the announcement was designed to show how dated they believe the ruling to be suggesting the rules date back to the 1930’s “Today (Feb. 26) the Federal Communications Commission approved an order urged by President Obama that imposes rules on broadband Internet services that were written in the era of the steam locomotive and the telegraph“. Either way, make sure to check out both versions of the press release and let us know your thoughts.