Network Neutrality

Donald Trump Jr. went after critics of the Federal Communications Commission's decision to rescind net neutrality rules, challenging critics to explain net neutrality. “I would pay good money to see all those people complaining about Obama’s FCC chairman voting to repeal #NetNeutality actually explain it in detail,” Trump Jr. tweeted. “I’d also bet most hadn’t heard of it before this week. #outrage.”

Disney just took control of 21st Century Fox’s media empire, and the Federal Communications Commission voted to repeal net neutrality regulations that prevent internet providers from discriminatory behavior. These two industry-shaking events will set media companies on a dramatic collision course with ISPs. It is the conflict that threatens the internet.

Sen Ed Markey (D-MA) and 15 other Sens announced their plan to introduce a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution that would undo Dec 14's action by the Federal Communications Commission and restore the 2015 net neutrality rules.

After the FCC’s vote to scrap its net neutrality regulations, activists will turn to lawsuits, Congress—and the 2018 election. Lawsuits probably won’t be filed until at least January, but it’s already clear that they will challenge the FCC’s vote on both substance and process. The substance argument is a legalistic, almost existential, debate over the true nature of an ISP.  What’s kept the fire burning all these years is the fight over two lousy choices for how to legally classify an ISP.

In the hours after the Trump administration scrapped rules that required internet providers to treat all web traffic equally, a handful of states mobilized in a bid to reverse the decision by the Federal Communications Commission in court — or perhaps write their own new regulations as a replacement. To start, a coalition of state attorneys general, led by New York, pledged on Dec 14 that they would sue the FCC to stop its rollback from taking place.

This Memorandum of Understanding is entered into by the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission for the purpose of facilitating their joint and common goals, obligations, and responsibilities to protect consumers and the public interest. The Agencies recognize and acknowledge that each agency has legal, technical, and investigative expertise and experience that is valuable for rendering advice and guidance to the other relating to the acts or practices of Internet service providers. 

Two big earthquakes shook the media industry Dec 14. They are not directly connected but will combine to reshape the industry’s landscape. Net neutrality, the idea that internet distributors should not discriminate between different kinds of content, was voted out. The dramatic deal between Walt Disney Co. and 21st Century Fox, inked on the same day, should be seen at least in part as a response to this.

Acting FTC Chairman Maureen K. Ohlhausen -- The FCC’s action today restored the FTC’s ability to protect consumers and competition throughout the Internet ecosystem. The FTC is ready to resume its role as the cop on the broadband beat, where it has vigorously protected the privacy and security of consumer data and challenged broadband providers who failed to live up to their promises to consumers. 

Now that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) under chairman Ajit Pai has officially repealed net neutrality rules that have been in effect since 2015, the question becomes: Will the web really change?  Experts say that, if net neutrality norms do start to erode, it will probably happen incrementally, in ways that may be hard to recognize at first.  Here's what consumers should watch for. 

[Commentary] As the US continues to debate whether to embrace internet freedom, the world is doing so already, with many countries imposing even stronger rules than the ones the Federal Communications Commission did away with. Other countries are facing similar dilemmas about how to deal with today’s digital realities, and are slowly and individually contributing to a patchwork of laws that differ from country to country.