The Federal Communications Commission today took its official vote to restore net neutrality, passing an order titled Safeguarding and Securing the Open Internet. This restores, with some changes and protections, the rules adopted in 2015 allowing the FCC to enforce basic broadband connectivity and fairness rules.
Since the FCC announced it would pursue this policy goal last September, it has been more or less a accomplished fact, since there was no real reason for the Commission, divided 3 to 2 in favor of the Democrats, to vote against. So today, while an important event, is just another step on the path forward.
The usual old canards have been laid out, just as they were ten years ago: heavy-handed regulation, price controls, stifling innovation… general arguments that never really carried much weight. As Chairman Jessica Rosenworcel points out, the FCC already rules with this authority (Title II, for those of you who have been with us since the beginning) in other areas and they are not enforced by rules and regulations. draconian limits.
Instead, it highlights insane inconsistencies with recent years of operation. For example, last year the FCC stripped some wireless providers affiliated with Chinese state actors of their ability to operate in the United States.
“But it’s important to understand that our actions have not extended to broadband, thanks to the work of the last FCC,” she said during the meeting. “Our national security authorities have publicly stated how Chinese state-affiliated operators and others have exploited insecure Internet routing protocols to hijack our Internet traffic. When we were asked to do something about this, thanks to the FCC’s latest withdrawal from the broadband fray, the best we could offer was a forum in the Commission’s meeting room. I don’t think this deters our adversaries.
But it’s not just the United States playing cover-up with China. There are also national issues they need to address: You may have noticed that the FCC recently redefined broadband as 100 megabits on top and 25 on the bottom. I received an email from Xfinity the morning the change took effect, informing me that my speeds had been magically updated at no cost to me. Generous, right? Of course, if the FCC hadn’t done this, I would have just paid more and more for the lowest speed they thought they could get away with.
WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 5: Federal Communications Commission Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel testifies before the Communications and Technology Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee in the Building office space at Rayburn House.
Same with zero-rating, where an Internet service provider doesn’t count certain services, like a streaming platform it owns or has a partnership with, toward your bandwidth cap. If these problems aren’t nipped in the bud, you’ll end up with a bunch of horrible packages between darling companies – and with a huge proportion of TV now streamed, that’s more important than ever on home broadband . What separates you from a Cox Gigabit Plus exclusive on the next season of Bridgerton? The FCC now.
Rosenworcel summed it up perfectly: “I think in a modern digital economy we should have a national net neutrality policy and make it clear that the national communications expert has the ability to act on broadband . » That’s really all there is to it.
Wondering why it took so long? Republicans in the Senate blocked the nomination of a fifth commissioner for years, preventing the agency from doing any real work. When Anna Gomez was finally confirmed, the net neutrality proposal emerged within weeks.
Of course, as I pointed out recently, the new net neutrality rules are far from safe. They will have to overcome challenges in court and, depending on the outcome of the election, they could simply be overturned or removed by law. On the other hand, under a friendly administration, these rules could be written into law during the next legislature.
Rosenworcel specifically cited California’s state net neutrality rules as an example of what happens if federal authorities can’t be relied upon. While she is clearly appreciative of California’s legislative position, there may be some issues to resolve where the two rules contradict each other. But establishing a national rule as a baseline for protections, as we do in so many other sectors, seems like the bare minimum.
It will be some time before the rules take effect, as they must first be published in the Federal Register, and then there is another waiting period. But the truth is, you probably won’t even notice. Companies that allegedly attempted, and sometimes did attempt, to interfere with broadband traffic quickly realized the risk was not worth it, due to consumer backlash and, eventually, federal protections. They more or less adopted exemplary behavior, knowing that this rule was probably coming – plus, it gave them an excuse to say: “anti-consumer practices, what anti-consumer practices?” We haven’t done anything like this in years! Don’t believe them.
If you’re still curious about what the new rule is about, there’s a nice informative page here (I learned some things) and a video where the president explains it.
techcrunch
