The FCC Succeeds in Repealing Net Neutrality Rules

blogged by @TKTrinidad

The internet as we know it will be changed forever because the Federal Communications Commission voted to repeal the net neutrality law created in 2015 by President Obama.

This is a big victory for Republicans whose main goal was to do away with this law despite the fact a recent survey showed 83 percent of people were against the plan.

Chairman of the FCC, Ajit Pai who lead the charge to repeal said,”The digital world bears no resemblance to a water pipe or an electric line or a sewer.”

In 2004, there were series of principals that lead to the 2015 net neutrality rules set by then FCC Chairman, Michael Powell; the freedom to access any Web content of their choice, so long as it was legal; the freedom to use any online application; the freedom to use their home broadband connections on any device; and the freedom to get subscription information from their own providers. Powell says the new law is in alignment with those principles.

The fear of doing away with this law is that now internet providers get to pick and choose what we can see and give special preference to companies they are working with. This could also affect internet cost by charging more for bundle packages.Internet providers say that they will not benefit from the new law, in fact, they say that the FCC can sue carriers for showing favoritism to other companies and the old law was stopping them from making internet speeds faster.

People who back net neutrality will try to challenge the FCC in court. FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel (D) said,”If the arc of history is long, we are going to bend this toward a more just outcome — in the courts, in Congress, wherever we need to go to ensure that net neutrality stays the law of the land.”