FCC reinstates net neutrality

FCC reinstates net neutrality – On Thursday April 25, the Federal Communications Commission revved Obama-era net neutrality rules, setting up another clash with the telecom industry and republicans.

The victory for Democrats is 3-2 vote along partisan lines, who have pushed for this type of regulation for the last 2 decades and say it’s required for consumer protection, national security, and fair competition.

Further, the rules which prevent broadband providers from blocking and throttling consumers’ internet traffic, were repealed in 2017 during the Trump era. The order also classifies broadband as a telecom service, as per the 2015 rules did, expanding the agency’s authority to regulate internet networks. An earlier version of the rules was struck in a court in 2014.

FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said before the vote that “I think in a modern digital economy we should have a national net neutrality policy and make clear the nation’s expert on communications has the ability to act when it comes to broadband”. Further he added, “ In our post-pandemic world, we know that broadband is a necessity, not a luxury.

Democratic commissioners stressed that the plan is not an effort to regulate the prices charged from consumers for using broadband services, which has been a source of telecom industry anxiety for many years.

Previously, the US President called for reviving net neutrality in his 2021 executive order on competition, and his administration endorsed the regulatory plans in March.
Senior Democratic lawmakers also back the new rules, while senior Republicans are pledging to fight them.

Now the order will get into effect after 60 days of publication in the Federal Registration.

However, the future course of rules is not very certain given a variety of threats on the horizon. If former President Donald Trump wins re-election a GOP-led FCC would likely repeal the rules.

The telecom industry is likely to file a legal challenge, although Rosenworcel has defended the plan as court-tested given an earlier legal victory involving the concerned rules of 2015.