F.C.C. Repeals Net Neutrality Rules
WASHINGTON
— The Federal Communications Commission voted on Thursday to dismantle
rules regulating the businesses that connect consumers to the internet,
granting broadband companies the power to potentially reshape Americans’
online experiences.
The
agency scrapped the so-called net neutrality regulations that
prohibited broadband providers from blocking websites or charging for
higher-quality service or certain content. The federal government will
also no longer regulate high-speed internet delivery as if it were a
utility, like phone service.
The action reversed the agency’s 2015 decision,
during the Obama administration, to have stronger oversight over
broadband providers as Americans have migrated to the internet for most
communications. It reflected the view of the Trump administration and
the new F.C.C. chairman that unregulated business will eventually yield
innovation and help the economy.
It will take weeks for the repeal to go into effect, so consumers will not see any of the potential changes
right away. But the political and legal fight started immediately.
Numerous Democrats on Capitol Hill called for a bill that would
reestablish the rules, and several Democratic state attorneys general,
including Eric T. Schneiderman of New York, said they would file a suit
to stop the change.
Several
public interest groups including Public Knowledge and the National
Hispanic Media Coalition also promised to file a suit. The Internet
Association, the trade group that represents big tech firms such as
Google and Facebook, said it also was considering legal action.
Continue reading the main story
The commission’s chairman, Ajit Pai,
vigorously defended the repeal before the vote. He said the rollback of
the rules would eventually benefit consumers because broadband
providers like AT&T and Comcast could offer them a wider variety of
service options. His two fellow Republican commissioners also supported
the change, giving them a 3-to-2 majority.
“We
are helping consumers and promoting competition,” Mr. Pai said.
“Broadband providers will have more incentive to build networks,
especially to underserved areas.”
The
discarding of the net neutrality regulations is the most significant
and controversial action by the F.C.C. under Mr. Pai. In his first 11
months as chairman, he has lifted media ownership limits, eased caps on how much broadband providers can charge business customers and cut back on a low-income broadband program that was slated to be expanded to nationwide carriers.
What Is Net Neutrality?
The F.C.C. voted to dismantle rules
that require internet providers to give consumers equal access to all
content online. Here’s how net neutrality works.
By AARON BYRD and NATALIA V. OSIPOVA on Publish Date November 21, 2017.
Photo by Michael Bocchieri/Getty Images.
Watch in Times Video »
His
plan for the net neutrality rules, first outlined early this year, set
off a flurry of opposition. The issue has bubbled up occasionally for
more than a decade, with the debate getting more intense over the years
as digital services have become more ingrained in everyday life.
Critics
of the changes say that consumers will have more difficulty accessing
content online and that start-ups will have to pay to reach consumers.
In the past week, there have been hundreds of protests across the
country, and many websites have encouraged users to speak up against the
repeal.
In
front of a room packed with reporters and television cameras from the
major networks, the two Democratic commissioners warned of consumer
harms to come from the changes.
Mignon
Clyburn, one of the Democratic commissioners, presented two accordion
folders full of letters protesting the changes, and accused the three
Republican commissioners of defying the wishes of millions of Americans
by ceding their oversight authority.
“I
dissent, because I am among the millions outraged,” said Ms. Clyburn.
“Outraged, because the F.C.C. pulls its own teeth, abdicating
responsibility to protect the nation’s broadband consumers.”
Brendan Carr, a Republican commissioner, said it was a “great day” and dismissed critics’ “apocalyptic” warnings.
“I’m proud to end this two-year experiment with heavy-handed regulation,” Mr. Carr said.
During
Mr. Pai’s speech before the vote, security guards entered the meeting
room at the F.C.C. headquarters and told everyone to evacuate. Th
commissioners were ushered out a back door. The agency did not say what
had caused the evacuation, other than Mr. Pai saying it had been done
“on advice of security.” The hearing restarted a short time later.
Despite
all the uproar, it is unclear how much will eventually change for
internet users. Major telecom companies like AT&T and Comcast, as
well as two of the industry’s major trade groups, have promised
consumers that their experiences online would not change.
Mr.
Pai and his Republican colleagues have echoed the comments of the
telecom companies, which have told regulators that because of the limits
to their business imposed by the rules, they weren’t expanding and
upgrading their networks as quickly as they wanted.
“There
is a lot of misinformation that this is the ‘end of the world as we
know it’ for the internet,” Comcast’s senior executive vice president,
David Cohen, wrote in a blog post this week. “Our internet service is
not going to change.”
But
with the F.C.C. making clear that it will no longer oversee the
behavior of broadband providers, telecom experts said, the companies
could feel freer to come up with new offerings, such as faster tiers of
service for online businesses willing and able to pay for it. Some of
those costs could be passed on to consumers.
Those
experts also said that such prioritization could stifle certain
political voices or give the telecom conglomerates with media assets an
edge over their rivals.
Consumer
groups, start-ups and many small businesses said there have already
been examples of net neutrality violations by companies, such as when AT&T blocked FaceTime on iPhones using its network.
These
critics of Mr. Pai, who was nominated by President Trump, said there
isn’t enough competition in the broadband market to trust that the
companies will try to offer the best services. The rule changes, they
believe, give providers incentive to begin charging websites to reach
consumers.
“Let’s
remember why we have these rules in the first place,” said Michael
Beckerman, president of the Internet Association, the trade group.
“There is little competition in the broadband service market.”
Dozens of Democratic lawmakers, and some Republicans, have pushed for Congress to pass a law on the issue.
One
Republican commissioner, Mike O’Reilly, said he supported a law created
by Congress for net neutrality. But he said any law should be less
restrictive than the 2015 rules, protecting the ability of companies to
charge for faster lanes, a practice known as “paid prioritization.”
Any
legislative action appears to be far off, however, and numerous online
companies warned that the changes approved on Thursday should be taken
seriously.
“If
we don’t have net neutrality protections that enforce tenets of
fairness online, you give internet service providers the ability to
choose winners and losers,” Steve Huffman, chief executive of Reddit,
said in an interview. “This is not hyperbole.”
Hmmmm--what about new startup companies that were in business BEFORE Net Neutrality in 2015--how did it affect them in the past 2 years? What will happen to them now? At least bills won't go up by 30% due to the exorbitant fees, taxes laid on by the PUC which won't be able to smother them out of competition with other providers that ARE regulated by the PUC.
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