The FCC votes to move forward with gutting net neutrality

The Federal Communications Commission voted 2-1 today to move forward with Chairman Ajit Pai’s proposal to repeal key portions of the net neutrality rules. During a recent call on the net neutrality order, however, senior FCC officials were not particularly confident the public comment period will change the order substantially. Democrats (and many tech companies, plus internet rights advocates) advocate for net neutrality rules because they say big companies and incumbents could take advantage of their positions to limit access to certain content online, and hinder innovation by smaller competitors.

“Today, we propose to repeal utility-style regulation of the Internet”, Pai said.

Democratic FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn voted against Pai’s proposals, stating that the new conditions would nearly certainly mean no FCC oversight whatsoever.

“If you unequivocally trust that your broadband provider will always put the public interest over their self-interest or the interest of their stockholders, then (this proposal) is for you”, Mignon Clyburn, the FCC’s lone Democratic commissioner, said in prepared remarks Thursday. The first is undoing the classification of ISPs under Title II, the same as other utilities like water or electric companies.

The Washington, D.C., Court of Appeals has found that the FCC can not prohibit content blocking unless it treats broadband as a telecommunications service rather than an information service.

Ultimately, the rule-making could wind up in court, although lawmakers may seek to side-step a legal challenge by amending the Communications Act. And finally, the proposal asks whether the agency should eliminate the most high-profile parts of the net neutrality rules: The rules banning the blocking and slowing of websites, as well as the rule forbidding ISPs from charging websites extra fees.

The term net neutrality has come to encapsulate the idea that Internet providers such as Comcast or Verizon should treat all web traffic equally and fairly. To be clear, the rules are not being adopted today – that vote will be about three months from now, during which time the proposal is open for comment. “Revocation of the current rules and replacement with less stringent protections, Clyburn said Thursday, would deeply damage the ability of the FCC to be a champion of consumers and competition in the 21st century”.

Will the FCC’s final rule end the debate?

Internet providers and FCC chairman Ajit Pai have tried to separate what they’re doing here – updating the regulatory classification of internet providers – from net neutrality.

What happens next? Well, the FCC’s website will be re-opened to public comment, allowing you to share your thoughts with the FCC. Net Neutrality rules ensure that consumers can control what they say and do online, but chairman Pai prefers to give that control instead to Comcast, AT&T, Charter and Verizon.