Mikey Campbell
U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai is on Tuesday expected to unveil plans to dismantle Obama-era net neutrality protections that prohibit internet service providers from slowing certain websites while allowing paid "fast lanes" for others.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, Politico reports Pai will push for a total repeal of core net neutrality regulations, marking a win for telcos like Verizon and Comcast that stand to profit from the change.
News of Pai's supposed plan comes hours after a The Wall Street Journal report suggested Trump's FCC would reveal a final proposal to undo net neutrality protections this week. The commission opened the issue up for public debate less than three months ago, during which time some 22 million comments were lodged.
The proposal to shift the FCC's stance is being backed by Republicans commissioners who view current regulations as invasive to the businesses of internet service providers. Strict rules set up and enforced by the Obama administration stymie investment, which in turn slows the expansion of broadband infrastructure, Republicans argue.
Introduced in 2015 by former FCC Commissioner Tom Wheeler, net neutrality regulations classify internet providers as common carriers under Title II of the Communications Act, granting the commission greater oversight over their consumer practices. Pai's proposal is expected to roll back this classification to Title I information services.
Proponents of strong net neutrality rules argue Title II classification allows for an open internet by prohibiting ISPs from engaging in price unsavory practices.
For example, one worry is that providers will charge websites and services a fee for priority speeds, or paid "fast lanes," once neutrality protections are removed. While such measures would be a boon for big firms like video streaming companies, smaller entities looking to establish a foothold would suffer.
Apple weighed in on the subject in August, saying it supports an open internet without artificial barriers. The company urged the FCC to keep net neutrality regulations in place as lifting existing restrictions could allow ISPs to favor one service over another, thus "fundamentally altering the internet as we know it today — to the detriment of consumers, competition, and innovation."
Along with Apple, other notable tech firms like Amazon, Google, Spotify, Twitter and others threw their weight behind net neutrality in July.
FCC commissioners will vote on the matter in December.
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Malcolm Owen
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68 Comments
You have to admit that in its purest form greed is awe inspiring. That certain repulsive companies would plunge us into a modern dark internet age.
The costs will without a doubt get passed on to consumers, squeezing those that already don’t have enough. Essentially a toll lane to the internet, and a new kind of paywall.
Thank you Apple for standing up to the companies that our own government will not protect us from.
Time to stand up behind Apple and draw a line in the sand. It’s never been so easy to fight back.
https://www.battleforthenet.com/?utm_source=AN&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=BFTNCallTool&utm_content=voteannouncement&ref=fftf_fftfan1120_30&link_id=0&can_id=99938e0e78ecbd59e0a8f02403bc2fb6&email_referrer=email_265023&email_subject=net-neutrality-dies-in-one-month-unless-we-stop-it
You can’t have access to my phone, you can’t break my privacy, and you can’t deny my right to acces the internet.
We the People are more powerful than your lobbyists will ever be!
Although I don’t know all of the specific details of net neutrality and the effects of removing it, I do know that if ISPs were allowed to prioritise traffic to make a profit it is 100% guaranteed they will do it. There’s no question at all. And like every other situation where there’d be severe complaints from consumers, they will implement it in subtle steps so consumers get used to it slowly and then eventually just accept it as a way of life even though they never wanted it.
Whether people are for or against net neutrality as it is now, if removing it will allow ISPs to prioritise traffic we have to insist that something else is put in its place. The internet as we know it will fade away and become like television was 20 years ago—only those with lots of money and influence can get ‘in’ on content creation and distribution. And the variety we see today, for better and worse, will be relatively anemic.
This guy Pai is a real piece of work. I smell the consumer getting the worse if this plan goes through.
Currently I turn on my VPN when there is privacy/security concerns. Soon my VPN will need to be on 24/7.
The VPN overhead is better than the alternative...
Soon Apple might just integrate the technology directly into their security chip...
Actually, full speed head FCC. They might force secure tunnels and SSL/TLS everywhere, and everyone would be more secure.
The ISPs can still go F themselves. Let’s see them “optimize” the traffic when they have no idea what the traffic is...