technology
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Federal Communications Commission voted Thursday to revive “net neutrality” rules that prevent broadband web providers like Comcast and Verizon from favoring certain web sites and apps over others.
The move effectively restores a Net neutrality regulation The commission was first enacted in 2015 in the course of the Obama administration. In 2017, the FCC was founded under then-President Donald Trump abolished these rules.
The measure passed Thursday by a 3-2 vote along party lines, with Democratic commissioners in favor and Republicans opposed.
Net neutrality effectively requires web service providers to treat all traffic equally, removing any incentive for them to favor business partners or hinder competitors. The public interest group Public Knowledge describes Net neutrality as “the principle that the company that connects you to the Internet does not have control over what you do on the Internet.”
For example, the principles prohibit practices that throttle or block certain web sites or apps, or reserve higher speeds for services or customers willing to pay more for them.
“In our post-pandemic world, we know that broadband is a necessity, not a luxury,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in an announcement before the vote.
Even though it has been nearly seven years for the reason that FCC repealed the previous net neutrality rules, their reinstatement is just not expected to noticeably change users' online experience. John Bergmayer, legal director at Public Knowledge, attributes this to the undeniable fact that several states had passed their very own net neutrality measures before 2015, all of which remained in effect when the FCC modified course two years later after Trump's election.
“Some of the absolute worst excesses of (internet providers) have been kept in check by government oversight,” Bergmayer said.
States like California went even further than the FCC – for instance, banning a practice called “zero rating.” Here, for instance, a wireless carrier could enter right into a industrial agreement to drive users to a selected streaming service by eliminating all associated data fees to zero. According to Bergmayer, other states with strict net neutrality rules include Colorado, Maine, Oregon, Vermont and Washington.
As before, the telecommunications industry opposed the reinstatement of federal regulations, calling them an example of unnecessary government interference in business decisions.
image credit : www.boston.com