Yahoo – AFP,
Rob Lever, December 14, 2017
 |
| Activists outside the Federal Communications Commission ahead of a vote on "net neutrality" regulations (AFP Photo/Brendan Smialowski) |
Washington
(AFP) - US regulators voted Thursday to roll back so-called "net
neutrality" rules which required internet providers to treat all traffic
equally, in the latest twist to an acrimonious debate over online freedom.
The Federal
Communications Commission, in a three-to-two vote, adopted a proposal by
Republican appointed chairman Ajit Pai, who said his plan would scrap
"heavy-handed" rules adopted in 2015 which he argued discouraged
investment and innovation.
The vote
capped a heated partisan debate and is just the latest in a battle over more
than a decade on rules governing internet service providers in the courts and
the FCC.
Democratic
member Mignon Clyburn, one of the two dissenters, charged that the agency was
"handing the keys to the internet" to "a handful of multibillion
dollar corporations."
Immediately
following the vote, officials from two states and others vowed to challenge the
FCC action in court.
Net
neutrality activists have staged a series of protests in cities around the US
and online, amid fears that dominant broadband providers could change how the
internet works.
"Chairman
Pai has given internet service providers an explicit license to block, slow, or
levy tolls on content," said Ferras Vinh of the Center for Democracy &
Technology, a digital rights group.
Vinh said
internet providers "will now have even greater power to shape the online
experiences of internet users, at the expense of consumers and small
companies."
Net
neutrality backers have argued that clear rules are needed to prevent internet
service providers from blocking or throttling services or websites for
competitive reasons.
Critics of
the 2015 rule counter that it was based on utility-style regulation designed
for 1930s telephone companies, not a dynamic internet market.
 |
FCC
chairman Ajit Pai, center, speaks during a hearing ahead of a vote by
the
telecom regulator on "net neutrality" rules (AFP Photo/Brendan
Smialowski)
|
Not a
water pipe
Pai said
ahead of the vote that his plan would restore "light-touch" rules
which allowed the internet to flourish, and promote investments to enable new
and emerging services.
"The
digital world bears no resemblance to a water pipe or electric line or
sewer," Pai said in a session briefly halted over an undisclosed security
threat.
"Entrepreneurs
and innovators guided the internet far better than the heavy hand of
government."
Pai said
removing neutrality rules is key to investment to develop newer "next
generation" services such as telemedicine or autonomous driving.
"When
there's less investment, that means fewer next-generation networks are
built," he said. "And that means more Americans are left on the wrong
side of the digital divide."
But
dissenting FCC commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said: "Net neutrality is
internet freedom. I support that freedom," she said.
"This
decision puts the Federal Communications Commission on the wrong side of
history, the wrong side of the law, and the wrong side of the American
public."
Appointed
by President Donald Trump, Pai was a fierce critic of the neutrality rules
adopted under former president Barack Obama in 2015 and earlier this month
unveiled his plan named the "Restoring Internet Freedom" order.
 |
A person
records proceedings during a hearing at the Federal Communications
Commission
meeting on "net neutrality" rules (AFP Photo/Brendan Smialowski)
|
Many
Republican lawmakers backed Pai, although a few had urged the FCC to delay the
vote to allow Congress time to consider legislation.
More
court challenges
Within
minutes of the vote, the attorneys general of New York State and Washington
State vowed to challenge the FCC in court.
"The
FCC just gave Big Telecom an early Christmas present, by giving internet
service providers yet another way to put corporate profits over
consumers," New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said.
Others
planned legal challenges including the consumer activist group Free Press.
"We'll
have plenty to say in court about the legal mistakes littered throughout this
decision," said Free Press spokesman Matt Wood.
Democratic
Senator Ed Markey said he would ask lawmakers for a regulatory review to overturn
what he called the FCC's "misguided and partisan decision" in order
to "keep the internet in the hands of the people."
Pai and
internet firms have maintained that internet users will see no difference once
the new rules are implemented.
Commission
member Michael O'Rielly dismissed "fear-mongering" by neutrality
backers.
"The
internet has functioned without net neutrality rules far longer than with
them," he said.
What is net neutrality and why is it important? https://t.co/PZ8hmqvaqE pic.twitter.com/1E7uf8ha1t— AFP news agency (@AFP) December 16, 2017
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