House Commerce Takes on Paid Prioritization, an Essential Tenet to the Open Internet

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[Commentary] On April 17, the House Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology will hold a hearing on paid prioritization -- an issue that is central to the net neutrality debate. While most internet service providers (ISPs) have claimed that they have no plans to block or degrade traffic once the Federal Communications Commission's 2017 net neutrality repeal Order goes into effect (exactly when that will be remains TBD), commitments (or lack thereof) not to engage in paid prioritization have remained a moving target. These commitments are shifting with the political winds, and ISPs are including plenty of wiggle room to allow them to argue they haven’t misled consumers if they eventually choose to offer prioritization deals.To be clear at the outset: A ban on paid prioritization is essential for meaningful net neutrality protections. Some of the most likely threats to the open internet come from paid prioritization -- ISPs speeding up some internet services at the expense of others. Because paid prioritization is a zero-sum game, speeding up some traffic means other traffic is, by comparison, slowed down. 


House Commerce Takes on Paid Prioritization, an Essential Tenet to the Open Internet