US FCC revives controversial net neutrality rules Trump worked to quash
- The US Federal Communications Commission on a 3-to-2 party-line Democratic-led vote advanced the revival of net neutrality
- Critics say the broadband market is working well, and that the FCC’s move heralds a dangerous expansion of administrative power
US regulators voted on Thursday to reinstate rules aimed at ensuring that everything on the internet is equally accessible – a principle known as net neutrality that has stoked debate and controversy across the technology and telecommunications industries for more than two decades.
The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on a 3-to-2 party-line Democratic-led vote advanced the revival of net neutrality, in essence saying fast internet access is a basic telecoms service. The rule needs another vote to become final. That would re-establish the FCC’s authority to police broadband providers for any attempts to block or throttle back internet traffic for some while prioritising access to others who are willing to pay more.
The debate over government’s role in regulating internet access has raged around the world for years. The US government’s approach has changed dramatically at times depending on the administration. Under former President Donald Trump, net-neutrality rules were gutted. Under President Joe Biden, the administration has made the revival of them a high priority.
The proposal that the FCC passed on Thursday, put forth by FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, a Democrat, would see to that.
The FCC, by quashing net neutrality rules in 2017, has been “on the wrong side of history, the wrong side of the law and the wrong side of the American public”, Rosenworcel said. “Today we begin a process to make this right” with “enforceable bright-line rules”.