The below was posted by Jersh on KF (which is still up on Tor). I only dimly understand it but it seems this might possibly be the point at which things come to a head re private companies controlling what can appear on the internet?
Hurricane Electric, one of the largest ISPs in the entire world, has blocked 1776 Hosting's IPs which very briefly (~2 days) was a way to connect to the Kiwi Farms.
Hurricane Electric admits that blocking an entire subnet of IP addresses like this is unprecedented. They refuse to elaborate as to why they've done this.
HE is an extremely old, extremely large provider which owns an enormous share of all fiber optic cable in the world. Their connectivity between smaller ISPs is unparalleled. Their bandwidth is over 100Tbps. If every nerve in your body is connected to each other, much like two computers on the Internet, then Hurricane Electric would effectively be your spine - hence why they are called the Internet Backbone. The Internet Backbone is telling a small forum of a few thousand daily users that they may not exist, they will not explain why, and they are not open to meeting halfway.
However, our relationship with HE was indirect. 1776 Hosting had a relationship with an ISP, who itself had a relationship with another ISP, who has a relationship with Hurricane Electric. HE did not terminate a relationship with me, they instead obstructed my providers from receiving traffic they specifically requested because Hurricane Electric does not allow it, without stated reason, and without appeal.
What Hurricane Electric has not considered is that this relationship took place in Washington state. Washington is one of the few states which has state-level common carrier provisions for the Internet. Quote:
(2) A person engaged in the provision of broadband internet access service in Washington state, insofar as the person is so engaged, may not:
(a) Block lawful content, applications, services, or nonharmful devices, subject to reasonable network management;
(b) Impair or degrade lawful internet traffic on the basis of internet content, application, or service, or use of a nonharmful device, subject to reasonable network management;
app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=19.385.020
This cause of action cannot be brought by individuals or companies. It must be brought by the Attorney General's Office in Washington. My providers have filed complaints with the Attorney General's Office in Washington. I am preparing to do the same via representation.
If you are a citizen of Washington, your right to access legal content via your Internet connection (as guaranteed by the state of Washington, to which you pay considerable tax) has been infringed by Hurricane Electric. However, I am not asking anyone do anything at this point. We are awaiting a response from the Attorney General. If the Attorney General refuses to protect our rights, then we may need voices from the state of Washington to compel their Attorney General to protect their rights instead. If they still refuse, we have further options to pursue to compel the government to enforce its laws fairly and equitably.
Hurricane Electric's political decision making and deliberate meddling with the Internet is the most dramatic action I have ever seen in the degradation of the Internet and the erosion of our personal liberties. The only path forward is for the Internet to be regulated as a common carrier. If we allow this behavior to continue, no website may exist without the collective assent of a dozen megacorporations joined at the hip.