Trump’s FCC chief has laid the groundwork for reversing Obama’s net-neutrality rules
Reuters/Kevin Lamarque
FCC chairman Ajit Pai.
Federal Communications Commission chairman Ajit Pai on Wednesday took the first steps in his plan to roll back the key component of the “net-neutrality” order set during the Obama administration.
In an impassioned speech given in Washington, DC, Pai did not detail a direct replacement for the rules, but issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to the rest of the agency that will reverse the their current classification of internet service providers (or “ISPs”) as utility-like telecommunication services under Title II of the Communications Act.
Instead, Pai wants to return ISPs to being “information service providers” under Title I of the Act. That’s what they were considered prior to the 2015 rules, and would give them greater control over what they can and cannot do.
All of that sounds hugely unsexy, but it’s significant. The net-neutrality order as it stands now legally prevents ISPs like Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon from blocking or slowing the speeds of internet companies like Netflix or Snapchat, and from creating so-called “fast lanes” for certain sites and apps in exchange for payment.
For instance, a Comcast cannot slow down a YouTube — or, more notably, a future YouTube — to make its preferred services more appealing. Nor can it let YouTube pay for faster service than every other video site.
Most large ISPs have promised to abide by the principles of net-neutrality regardless, though. And, like Pai, they have long argued that the Title II classification is unnecessary to enforce them.
This story is developing. Check back for updates.
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