FCC Kills Net Neutrality
The vote that decided the fate of the internet.
In a 3-2 vote in favor of the FCC, under chairman Ajit Pai, has voted to repeal Obama-era internet regulations. The net neutrality rules instituted under President Obama prevented internet service providers (ISP) from toying with traffic speed and offering premium prices for high speed lanes. ISP also became “Title II common carriers” so as to allow for stronger legal recourses against them. Today’s vote has undone all of that.
Against the wishes of Democrat commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel & Mignon Clyburn, the FCC’s Republican commissioners and chairman voted to repeal the net neutrality directives. Those in support of Pai believe that net neutrality was an unnecessary burden to young businesses; Pai stated today, “The internet wasn’t broken in 2015. We were not living in some digital dystopia,” implying that by removing net neutrality, nothing will change. Dissenters voice concerns over potential shady ISP activity, like bundling services together, with people unable to choose different providers forced to comply with whatever draconian rules their ISP dictates. Elsewhere, ISPs that own content creators like NBC or Hulu may aim to ensure smooth streaming on their own services while disrupting it for competitors.
Nothing is set in stone and it’s even possible that the measure will be overturned down the road. Furthermore, changes will not be made apparent for months, as the proposition’s details are hammered out and voted on. Still, the decision is an extremely unpopular one, as proven by the immense ratio of dislikes to likes on Chairman Pai’s 7 Things You Can Still Do On The Internet After Net Neutrality, uploaded yesterday.
What’s your response to the decision?
