FCC Repeals Net Neutrality: Newsletter December 15, 2017

ImageYesterday, the FCC voted to repeal net neutrality regulations that prohibited the blocking of websites by broadband providers and charging for service or certain types of content. The federal government will also no longer regulate high-speed internet delivery in the same way it does today with phone services, i.e. as a utility. This seemingly goes against public opinion survey showing 83% of the U.S. population opposes the decision irrespective of party affiliation. The vote is expected to be appealed in federal court.

This week, the U.S. Securities and Exchange commission has announced that their Cyber Unit has filed charges of fraud against two Quebec-based crypto-investment organizers and the crypto-investment firm, PlexCorp. The SEC alleges that the two managers of a $15 million initial coin offering (ICO) broke SEC regulations and defrauded investors. In turn, the SEC has obtained an emergency asset order granting them the right to move the money to different accounts while investigations are underway. Charges of fraud include making false statements to prospective investors, as well as allegedly hiding the involvement of one of the two organizers, who the SEC had previously successfully charged in another incident. Read below for more details on the ongoing investigation.

Google has also been in the press this week for its Google Console feature, currently in Beta. Google has released functionality that allows Beta users to see a year’s worth of site data on the dashboard. The Console now shows site data grouped weekly, monthly and over the last three, six and twelve months. Beta users are understandably pleased, and are already speculating that the future full version will allow users to view data from December 2016 onward, rather than limit the view to merely 12 months back.

In SaaS news, Stripe has announced their release into the Indian market as a private Beta. A select few owners of small companies in India were given invites to the Beta version so that Stripe can test how well the app integrates with Indian companies, as well as to incorporate relevant user feedback in the full release. The payment processing software’s recent rise in popularity is largely due to the ease and convenience SaaS companies find in the application.

Have you heard of Amazon Merch? It’s been taking the industry by storm and due to its popularity, it’s now rumored the wait list for new accounts is over 12 months! The best way to get around that process is to buy an already established business on the platform. Our featured listing this week is a $50K Merch by Amazon business, which has just been accepted to sell Amazon’s latest “long sleeve” shirts, meaning a new owner can quickly reuse all of the existing designs and double the number of products available. With 475 unique designs currently live, a lean cost structure and very little owner involvement, the business has a huge amount of growth potential for buyers of all levels of experience. Follow the link above to request a prospectus.

Pop quiz! Should you base your company’s headquarters in a cheap or expensive city? While the pull to set up shop in a city with low cost of living may be tempting, CEO Ismael Wrixen warns against opting for this short-term saving plan on the Startups.co blog. In his recent post, Location, Location, Location: The Cost of Cheap, Ismael draws on our experience with our Boston, London and S.E. Asian offices to explore why it actually makes long-term fiscal sense to base your company in a more expensive city with a robust entrepreneurial atmosphere.

In event news, Founder Thomas Smale attended SaaSFest here in Boston where he spent time with past and present FE clients, SaaS entrepreneurs and industry experts. Throughout the day he was also tweeting some of his favorite talks – click through to see which speaker said “Discounting in SMB SaaS is a lazy way to compete. Don’t do it.” Don’t forget, our Holiday networking mixer is coming up next week! The FE team is almost ready to deck the halls at our Holiday Networking Social at the Boston E-Commerce Meetup on Wednesday December 20. RSVP here to come enjoy the holiday season with peers from the industry and chat about what trends we’re all expecting in 2018.

Continue reading below for more on the FCC ruling against net neutrality, the SEC’s lawsuit against two ICO organizers, Google Console’s new beta, and Stripe’s announcement of their India beta launch.
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In the News…

FCC Votes to Repeal Net Neutrality

On Thursday it was announced that the FCC has voted 3-2 in favor of repealing net neutrality regulations put in place in 2015.

In a slight majority vote, the FCC has voted to repeal the regulations the commission had previously intended to serve as protection of a “free and open internet,” despite the overwhelming majority of the population opposing the idea of repealing net neutrality. Without the regulations, internet service providers are free to speed up service for websites they favor, and conversely slow down service for websites they do not. The general concern is that websites who can afford to pay a premium to have their content load faster will do so, leaving smaller sites who can’t afford to pay such premiums to load more slowly. Additionally, internet users seem concerned that this would allow internet service providers to charge more to access certain kinds of content, like video streaming and high quality imagery. Any changes, if and when they happen, would take a while to set in, since the FCC’s order would have to be adopted by vote in other government divisions. On top of that, states are expected to take the ruling to court on the premise that the new order contains provisions preventing states and municipalities from creating rules or regulations that contradict federal ones, compounded by the fact that the newly-voted-for Title I means states no longer have the power to enforce broadband rules, as they had under Title II.

Movement on tangible changes to the internet usage experience is expected to be slow and deliberate, so keep an eye out for developments and what they might mean for your online business.

SEC Files Fraud Charges Against ICO Organizer

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission has filed charges of fraud against two organizers of a $15 million initial coin offering (ICO).

Two Quebec-based crypto-investment organizers, along with the company PlexCorp, have been charged with breaking U.S. securities laws as well as defrauding investors, according to the claim filed on December 1. On top of the claim, the SEC has obtained an emergency asset order, which gives them the power to move the ICO funds—an estimated $15 million—from thousands of investors into different accounts. The charges were filed by the SEC’s Cyber Unit, which was created in September in an effort to more closely police ICOs, in tandem with other divisions. This is the Cyber Unit’s first complaint, as it apparently falls in line with exactly the type of scandal it was created to monitor. Of the charges, head of the unit Robert Cohen said, “This first Cyber Unit case hits all of the characteristics of a full-fledged cyber scam and is exactly the kind of misconduct the unit will be pursuing. We acted quickly to protect retail investors from this initial coin offering’s false promises.” This is not the first regulatory action against PlexCoin and Dominic LaCroix, one of the two organizers currently with allegations against them.

Lacroix could be facing prison time as well as thousands of dollars in fines. As the case unfolds, precedents for all crypto-investing organizers will be set.

Google Search Console Releases a Year’s Worth of Data in Beta

Google Search Console has this week released a year’s worth of users’ site data in a beta version of the launch.

Google Search Console allows users to monitor their site performance by: ensuring Google can access their content, submit new content and remove content unwanted in search results, monitoring which content delivers visually engaging results, and which searches cause your site to appear in search results, among many other things. This week, Google has released a beta allowing users to view up to 12 months of data in their search console. The search engine has been promising to release this function since 2013, so users and business owners are understandably excited at the opportunity to see a prolonged history of their site’s performance. Some users speculate that the full feature, once out of beta, will allow you to view data from December 2016 onward, not merely 12 months.

Those who have the beta version should be able to see up to 12 months of their data history, though there is no word yet when the full version will be launched on Google Console.

Stripe Announces Beta Launch in India

On Tuesday, Stripe announced the launch of its private beta in the Indian market, with invite-only tests for a small group of companies in India.

Stripe’s aim in releasing the beta is to see how well the app integrates in Indian companies, and to gain feedback from the users. This will ultimately help them better support local requirements of Indian businesses hoping to accept online payments and use Stripe as a tool for their business. Stripe’s India lead wrote in a blog post announcing the beta release, “We believe that by operating locally in India-with the ability for Indian companies to connect their local bank accounts to Stripe and get paid out in rupees-we can help support even more businesses and more types of business models (such as local marketplaces) in the years to come.”

Stripe’s growth in popularity is due in large part to software companies finding the application easy to use and convenient.