FCC Votes to Abolish Net Neutrality

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has voted to begin the process of dismantling the net neutrality laws that govern fair and free internet access.

The FCC’s members voted two-to-one in favour of a review of the rules, which will aim to heavily loosen or abolish many of the protections established under Obama. One of the primary goals is removing the classification of ISPs as ‘Title II’ carriers, which means they cannot be as heavily regulated.

The first stage of the process is the filing of a ‘Notice of Proposed Rulemaking’ (NPRM), outlining the changes the FCC are seeking to make. The Commission will be accepting comments and feedback from the general public and stakeholders for three months, before composing a final order and then voting on its implementation.

Trump-appointed FCC chairman Ajit Pai is a vocal and vociferous opponent of the current rules, arguing that they strangle innovation and deter companies from making infrastructure investments.

“For almost twenty years, the internet flourished under a light-touch regulatory approach. During this time, the internet underwent rapid, and unprecedented, growth,” the NPRM stated. “The Commission’s 2015 decision to subject ISPs to Title II utility-style regulations risks that innovation, serving ultimately to threaten the open internet it purported to preserve.”

Although Pai and fellow Republican FCC member Michael O’Rielly voted in favour of the proposals, the Commission’s third member, Democrat Mignon Clyburn, was fiercely opposed. He delivered a scathing rebuke of the plans, calling it “a hollow theory of trickle-down internet economics” that “contains ideological interpretive whiplash”.

“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 the ‘Destroying Internet Freedom’ NPRM is for you.”

Net neutrality rules, which govern whether or not broadband providers are allowed to charge more for certain traffic types than others, have frequently been hailed as essential for maintaining an open internet by digital rights activists. Many worry that if the rules are rescinded, cable providers will take advantage to promote their own apps and services, squeezing smaller rivals out of the market by charging them more to get their content to consumers.

For example, US ISPs Comcast and Time Warner both own stakes in video streaming service Hulu. Without the protection of net neutrality rules, they would be free to charge Netflix more to deliver its service to users, or to deliver it at a slower speed compared to Hulu, in an effort to force more people onto their own service.

This may appear like an issue that only affects the US, but it may have troubling implications for the rest of the world, encouraging heavier deregulation by other countries. It also raises worrying questions for anyone with a digital business serving US customers, as the new rules could adversely affect the provision of their services.

While Pai and other net neutrality opponents argue that the regulations harm infrastructure investment, a report this month from opposing advocacy group Free Press stated that by ISPs own admission, the Title II classification has had no measurable impact on their investments since it was introduced in 2015.

“Financial and marketplace evidence demonstrates that the FCC’s 2015 Open Internet Order is an absolute success, accomplishing its stated goal of preserving and promoting the online ecosystem’s ‘virtuous cycle of investment’,” the report said. “ISP investments accelerated following the vote. Investments in the edge, including those by online video providers and edge computing firms, are up as well. More new US ‘over-the-top’ video services launched in the two years following the vote than in the seven years prior.”

This article originally appeared at itpro.co.uk