The Federal Communications Commission just passed reinstatement of net neutrality regulations aimed at reining in internet providers.
The decision was split 3-2 on party lines and required internet service providers to treat all traffic equally. Under the Trump administration in 2017, FCC regulations from before 2015 were repealed because the Trump administration believed the federal government should not micromanage the internet.
The original regulations were introduced under the Obama administration and were intended to prevent service providers like Verizon and Comcast from blocking or reducing the quality of services from competitors like Netflix and YouTube.
“That’s where the buffering happens,” Jeffy explains to Pat Gray. “They allotted a limited amount of Netflix feed bandwidth and things like that. At the time, each company was fighting over how much they were going to pay for access and everything else.”
“But that’s between private companies,” he added. “If they’re interfering with your internet service, change your provider,” Gray agrees. “The free market will take care of this.”
The FCC chairman, a Democrat, said these rules reflect the importance of high-speed internet as the primary means of communication for many Americans and ensured that “all consumers receive fast, open, and fair access. I have a right.”
Gray isn’t sure he agrees.
“Do we really all deserve it? And do we deserve it from the government?” he asks.
