In a significant development for internet policy, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted on April 25 to reinstate net neutrality regulations that were repealed in 2017. The regulations, which were initially passed in 2010, block service providers such as Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon from stratifying the internet with preferred traffic.
The commission voted 3-2 along party lines, with the current President Joe Biden’s administration pushing for the reinstatement of net neutrality. In 2017, former President Donald Trump’s government deemed the net neutrality laws unnecessary and repealed them.
The FCC guidelines previously disallowed ISPs from charging consumers extra for faster access to some Internet content compared to others. However, Comcast and later Verizon Communications Inc. challenged the FCC’s rules in court, leading to a ruling in 2014 that the FCC has the authority to oversee broadband communications but not to impose anti-discrimination rules on providers.
In response, the FCC voted in 2015 to classify ISPs as Title II common carriers, subjecting them to net neutrality protocols. Despite this, the regulations were ultimately repealed in 2017. However, with President Biden’s executive order in 2021 encouraging the FCC to reinstate net neutrality, the commission has taken action to restore these important consumer protections.
The decision to reinstate net neutrality has sparked debate among industry stakeholders and advocates, with some applauding the move as a victory for an open and free internet, while others argue that it could stifle innovation and investment in broadband infrastructure. Only time will tell the full impact of this decision on the future of the internet in the United States.
