The New York Times reports:
The Federal Communications Commission is preparing a full repeal of net neutrality rules that require broadband providers to give consumers equal access to all content on the internet, putting more power in the hands of those companies to dictate people’s online experiences.
Ajit Pai, the chairman of the F.C.C., plans to reveal a sweeping proposal to scrap the net neutrality rules on Tuesday, according to two people familiar with the plan, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the details are not public.
The rules, created during the Obama administration, prohibit broadband providers from blocking, slowing down or charging more for the delivery of certain internet content. The proposal will be presented in a December meeting of F.C.C. commissioners and is expected to pass in a 3-to-2 vote along party lines.
A rollback of net neutrality regulations would represent a significant victory for broadband and telecom companies like AT&T and Comcast and would amount to a strike against consumers. When the rules were passed in 2015, they underlined the importance of high-speed internet to the lives of Americans and the need to more strongly regulate the communications service like a utility, as essential as electricity and the telephone.
It’s going to take everything we’ve got to save our free and open internet. Let’s get to work. Make those calls to tell your representatives you support #NetNeutrality: (202) 224-3121.https://t.co/1SNF7y2NpC
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) November 21, 2017
This is troubling. If you want a free and open internet it’s time to start calling your rep and writing the FCC. #NetNeutrality https://t.co/1cTYlnooOi
— Tamara Laine (@TamaraLaine) November 21, 2017
In Portugal, with no net neutrality, internet providers are starting to split the net into packages. pic.twitter.com/TlLYGezmv6
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) October 27, 2017