The FCC Just Reinstated Net Neutrality. This is a Big Deal.
Elections have consequences. Here's another win for democracy.
Tech is not a particularly salacious topic.
It has a specific niche; most, though, likely swipe left when something about the internet or apps appears in their feeds.
Before you follow suit, though, take a moment to consider that for the past six years your internet service provider (ISP) has been monitoring and increasing or throttling your connection speed based on the websites you have accessed.
That’s right: the ISP you pay to provide you with internet access was watching you and discriminating between web content.
You may not care about that. After all, you can argue, we’re watched all the time, everywhere we go. It’s part of daily life now.
True.
But for the past half-dozen years your ISP has also been selling your internet activity to private corporations for marketing purposes.
Comcast has been legally permitted to charge Netflix customers extra for requiring more bandwidth; AT&T has been legally permitted to decide to block access to certain websites; Verizon has been legally permitted to decide to throttle content that may be critical of it or its subsidiaries; people’s political affiliations have legally been used as a pretext to slow down their connection speeds, or to block content they access altogether.
Such was a decision made by Trump-appointee and former Verizon attorney Ajit Pai, tapped to head the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) in 2018, who repealed regulations protecting the free and open internet, known as net neutrality, which categorized the internet a public utility under Title II of the Telecommunication Act, requiring ISPs to regard all network data equally.
Under the current Biden-appointed FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel, though, net neutrality has been reinstated, fulfilling another promise President Biden made on the campaign trail.
Rosenworcel explained:
In our post-pandemic world, we know that broadband is a necessity, not a luxury. After the prior administration abdicated authority over broadband services, the FCC has been handcuffed from acting to fully secure broadband networks, protect consumer data, and ensure the internet remains fast, open, and fair. A return to the FCC’s overwhelmingly popular and court-approved standard of net neutrality will allow the agency to serve once again as a strong consumer advocate of an open internet.
Free Press Co-CEO Craig Aaron added:
Everyone should celebrate today’s FCC vote. Public support for Net Neutrality is overwhelming, and people understand why we need a federal watchdog to protect everyone’s access to the most essential communications platform of our time…We’ve been fighting for this moment since well before the Trump FCC threw out strong Title II rules in 2017. It’s been nearly 20 years since Net Neutrality first came under threat. In the time since, the debate over Net Neutrality, like the internet itself, has evolved. But the central concern remains the same: Does the FCC have the authority, vested in Title II of the Communications Act, to step in when internet service providers treat their customers unjustly by blocking or interfering with the free flow of information online? Today, the FCC answered that question with a resounding yes.
Former FCC Chair Michael Copps, and Common Cause Media and Democracy Program Director, Ishan Mehta, explained:
The restoration of Net Neutrality is a victory for every American household, and it is a victory for democracy. Today’s vote returns control of the Internet to the American people instead of corporate interests. The Internet is crucial to civic engagement in the United States today. It functions as a virtual public square where social justice movements organize and garner support.
Elections have consequences.
Here’s another win for democracy.