The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Thursday voted to reinstate Obama-era net neutrality rules.
The agency has made a partisan move to reinstate rules that prohibit broadband providers from blocking or restricting internet traffic to some websites or speeding up access to other websites for an additional fee. It was passed 3-2 in accordance with the opinion.
This move would classify broadband as a telecommunications service under Title II of the Communications Act and bring it under the jurisdiction of the FCC.
“Four years ago, the pandemic forever changed life as we know it,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said during Thursday’s committee meeting. “We were told to stay home, hunker down and live online. Much of our work, school and healthcare moved to the internet. If we wanted to engage with the world, everything had to be done through a broadband connection. .”
“It has become clear that no matter who you are or where you live, you need broadband to ensure your success in the digital age,” she continued. “Broadband has gone from being a nice-to-have to a necessity for everyone, everywhere. Broadband is now an essential service. The essential services we rely on for every aspect of modern life include basic requires close monitoring.”
Net neutrality rules were originally passed under the Obama administration in 2015, but were repealed under former President Trump in 2017.
The agency under President Biden’s administration voted to move forward with the process of restoring net neutrality rules last October after securing a Democratic Senate majority after a two-year hold-up over previous nominees.
“In today’s digital economy, I think we should have a national net neutrality policy and be clear that our national communications experts have the ability to act on broadband,” Rosenworcel added. . “This is good for consumers, good for public safety and good for national security.”
But Republican Commissioner Brendan Carr, who voted against the bill, argued Thursday that the agency is “reciting a list of false justifications” for introducing broadband service under Title II.
“Today’s order is not about net neutrality,” Carr said. “When we abandoned Title II in 2017, those who supported increased government control flooded the zone with apocalyptic rhetoric. Unwittingly parroting. They predicted the end of the Internet as we know it, and that it would become something consumers would want to access one word at a time. You have to pay for each site.”
“Nothing like that happened,” he continued. “The American people were exposed to one of the greatest disinformation stories in regulatory history.”
The Republican committee member also argued that big tech companies, not internet service providers (ISPs), are “actually abusing the power of gatekeepers.”
“Since 2017, we have found that it is Big Tech companies at the application layer, rather than ISPs operating at the physical layer, who are actually abusing gatekeeper powers,” Kerr added. . “Perversely, today’s orders make Big Tech even stronger than before.”
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