EXHIBIT 1 References • Footnote 2: 001 • Footnote 3: 015 • Footnote 4: 017 • Footnote 5: 142 • Footnote 6: 156 • Footnote 7: 157 • Footnote 8: 163 • Footnote 9: 166 • Footnote 10: 176 • Footnote 11: 181 12/14/2017 Fact-Checking FCC Chair Ajit Pai's Net Neutrality 'Facts' Layer 8 We fact-checked FCC Chair Ajit Pai’s net neutrality ‘facts’— and they’re almost all bulls**t Andrew Couts—Nov 30 at 2:09AM | Last updated Dec 1 at 3:21AM Screengrab via PBS NewsHour/Youtube (Fair Use) The fight over net neutrality rules has entered ‘fake news’ territory. On Dec. 14, the Federal Communications Commission will vote on a proposal that could, if the critics are to be believed, change the internet forever. 001 https://www.dailydot.com/layer8/fcc-net-neutrality-facts-fact-checked/ 1/14 12/14/2017 Fact-Checking FCC Chair Ajit Pai's Net Neutrality 'Facts' FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has put forward a proposal that would roll back rules protecting net neutrality, a founding principle of the internet that demands internet service providers (ISPs) treat all internet traffic equally. That means they can’t block content, throttle traffic from particular sources, or create “fast lanes” that speed up traffic for content providers that pay extra for the privilege. Until 2015, net neutrality was essentially optional. That changed when the FCC voted to reclassify broadband providers as “common carriers” under Title II of the Communications Act, which allowed the FCC to regulate ISPs’ practices and enforce net neutrality rules. If the new FCC proposal passes—and it’s all but certain it will—those rules will disappear, as will the Title II classification. Needless to say, fans of net neutrality are freaking out. Millions of people have commented on the proposal, demanding the FCC not pass its plan. (Millions of more comments were found to be fake.) A We The People petition calling for Pai to resign has already surpassed its 100,000-signature goal, which (theoretically) triggers a mandatory response from the White House. And internet freedom activists are planning a nationwide protest at Verizon stores across the United States on Dec. 7. In the face of intense opposition, which is fueled by a deep distrust of ISPs and concern for the future of the open internet, Pai this week released a list of “myths and facts” about net neutrality in an attempt to “set the record straight” on his proposal to gut net neutrality rules. The problem is, much of the “facts” he puts forth are either wildly misleading, missing key context, or simply speculation. To be fair, there’s rampant speculation among Pai’s critics as well. So, let’s take a look at each of Pai’s “myths” and “facts” and see where the truth really lies. 1) “The end of the internet as we know it.” MYTH: This is the end of the Internet as we know it. FACT: The Internet was free and open before the Obama Administration’s 2015 heavy- handed Title II Internet regulations, and it will be free and open after they are repealed. 002 https://www.dailydot.com/layer8/fcc-net-neutrality-facts-fact-checked/ 2/14 12/14/2017 Fact-Checking FCC Chair Ajit Pai's Net Neutrality 'Facts' Fact-check: It’s true that the internet thrived to become what it is today without the 2015 Open Internet Order in place, but the FCC has been enforcing portions of net neutrality for more than a decade. Further, ISPs have long pushed back against any attempts to establish strong net neutrality rules—and they repeatedly violated net neutrality prior to the 2015 Open Internet Order going into effect. Furthermore, ISPs have already begun to test the rules and waver on their commitment to net neutrality principles. 2) Startups MYTH: Startups will not be able to compete without Title II regulations. FACT: Entrepreneurs starting new businesses online thrived long before Title II regulations, and they will continue to flourish with more opportunities to innovate once those regulations are repealed. Indeed, companies like Google, Facebook, Netflix, and Twitter all started and experienced tremendous growth under the previous light-touch rules. Fact-check: Yes, the internet giants of today rose to prominence because ISPs (mostly) did not stifle them, even when the FCC lacked the current net neutrality rules. If the FCC explicitly eliminates those rules, however, it changes the environment in which ISPs are operating. That’s the worry consuming the startup community itself, and in April, more than 800 startups sent a letter to the FCC pleading with it to keep net neutrality rules in place. In short, the lack of net neutrality rules threatens startups because it gives ISPs greater power over them—even if they don’t use that power maliciously against potential competitors. 3) Censorship MYTH: Internet service providers will block you from visiting the websites you want to visit. FACT: Internet service providers didn’t block websites before the Obama Administration’s heavy-handed 2015 Internet regulations and won’t after they are repealed. Any Internet service provider would be required to publicly disclose this practice and would face fierce consumer backlash as well as scrutiny from the Federal Trade Commission, which will have renewed authority to police unfair, deceptive, and anticompetitive practices. 003 https://www.dailydot.com/layer8/fcc-net-neutrality-facts-fact-checked/ 3/14 12/14/2017 Fact-Checking FCC Chair Ajit Pai's Net Neutrality 'Facts' Fact-check: First, let’s address the claim that ISPs “would be required to publicly disclose” any sites they block. This is technically true: The FCC’s Transparency Rules do require ISPs to provide accurate, detailed information about their service, which includes “network management”—jargon that encompasses blocking access to websites or online services or other types of censorship. But this public disclosure is buried in a sea of jargon and is not necessarily something any customer would know about. (Here’s Optimum’s disclosure page, for example.) Further, it doesn’t necessarily include a list of individual sites or services that are blocked on a particular ISP’s network. The primary issue here is that Pai’s replacement for net neutrality is potential consumer backlash in the face of censorship. That argument—while likely true—relies on customers (or journalists) to police ISPs in the absence of federal rules. It fails to address the fact that Pai’s FCC is putting the onus on customers by stripping away the federal protections that make such a patchwork system unnecessary. 4) Broadband investment MYTH: Investment has flourished under the current regulatory framework. FACT: Following the adoption of the Obama Administration’s 2015 heavy-handed Internet regulations, broadband investment has fallen for two years in a row—the first time that’s happened outside of a recession in the Internet era. Fact-check: This one is really at the heart of the issue—and Pai’s argument appears to be entirely false. The main reason Pai wants to kill net neutrality rules is that, he claims, they are stifling the ISP industry and, therefore, limiting investment in building out and improving their networks. This is a claim the industry itself makes. However, data collected by Free Press, one of the leading pro-net neutrality non-profits, shows that investment across publicly traded ISPs has risen more than 5 percent, on average, in the two years since the net neutrality rules went into effect. In fact, Comcast increased investments by more than 26 percent. Not only that, but broadband speeds have increased since 2015, showing network improvements that benefit customers. On top of all that, some ISP executives themselves have admitted to investors that net neutrality rules did not negatively impact their investment decisions. 004 https://www.dailydot.com/layer8/fcc-net-neutrality-facts-fact-checked/ 4/14 12/14/2017 Fact-Checking FCC Chair Ajit Pai's Net Neutrality 'Facts' All that said, some ISPs have reduced investment, with US Cellular’s business expenditures dropping by nearly 25 percent over the past two years. So, as Business Insider reports, Pai is cherry picking data as an excuse to lift rules that could allow ISPs to expand their businesses in ways they currently can’t, such as getting paid for “fast lanes.” 5) Internet packages MYTH: Broadband providers will charge you a premium if you want to reach certain online content. FACT: This didn’t happen before the Obama Administration’s 2015 heavy-handed Internet regulations, and it won’t happen after they are repealed. Fact-check: This argument is entirely based on what happened before the net neutrality rules went into effect in 2015. As noted before, it is impossible to know whether ISPs will behave the same way they did in the past, which is why people are worried about eliminating the rules. Still, it does seem far-fetched that ISPs will try to go this route considering the hellfire of customer backlash they’ll face. But again, that is a less reliable system than having federal rules that prevent ISPs from going down that path in the first place. 6) Anti-competition MYTH: The current regulatory framework is good for competition. FACT: Title II regulations are bad for competition. They disproportionately burden the small Internet service providers and new entrants that are best positioned to introduce more competition into the broadband marketplace. Fact-check: Of the “facts” Pai has put forth so far, this one likely has the most validity to it. Back in April, a group of small ISPs signed a letter calling on the FCC to overturn net neutrality rules because the regulatory burden hurt their businesses.