U.S. regulators ditch net neutrality rules as legal
battles loom
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[December 15, 2017]
By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal
Communications Commission voted along party lines on Thursday to repeal
landmark 2015 rules aimed at ensuring a free and open internet, setting
up a court fight over a move that could recast the digital landscape.
The approval of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's proposal in a 3-2 vote marked a
victory for internet service providers such as AT&T Inc, Comcast Corp
and Verizon Communications Inc and hands them power over what content
consumers can access. It also is the biggest win for Pai in his sweeping
effort to undo many telecommunications regulations since taking over at
the agency in January.
Democrats, Hollywood and companies such as Google parent Alphabet Inc
and Facebook Inc had urged Pai, a Republican appointed by U.S. President
Donald Trump, to keep the Obama-era rules barring service providers from
blocking, slowing access to or charging more for certain content. The
new rules give internet service providers sweeping powers to change how
consumers access the internet but must have new transparency
requirements that will require them to disclose any changes to
consumers.
The meeting, held amid protests online and in front of the FCC
headquarters in Washington, was evacuated before the vote for about 10
minutes due to an unspecified security threat, and resumed after law
enforcement with sniffer dogs checked the room.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters the administration
"supports the FCC’s efforts. At the same time, the White House certainly
has and always will support a free and fair internet."
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, a Democrat, said in a
statement he will lead a multi-state lawsuit to challenge the reversal.
Shares of Alphabet, Apple Inc and Microsoft Corp moved lower after the
vote.
The FCC said the rules would take effect in a few months after the White
House Office of Management and Budget formally approves them.
Pai has argued that the 2015 rules were heavy handed and stifled
competition and innovation among service providers.
"The internet wasn't broken in 2015. We weren't living in a digital
dystopia," he said on Thursday.
NEXT STEPS
Consumers are unlikely to see immediate changes but smaller startups
worry the lack of restrictions could drive up costs or lead to their
content being blocked.
Internet service providers say they will not block or throttle legal
content but may engage in paid prioritization. They argue that the
largely unregulated internet functioned well in the two decades before
the 2015 order.
Republican FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly noted that self-driving
vehicles and remotely monitored medical procedures may require internet
service and that their needs could be given priority "over cat videos."
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Commissioner Mignon Clyburn speaks ahead of the vote on the repeal
of so called net neutrality rules at the Federal Communications
Commission in Washington, U.S., December 14, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P.
Bernstein
O'Rielly said it is unlikely any internet provider would voluntarily submit to a
"PR nightmare" by "attempting to engage in blocking, throttling or improper
discrimination. It is simply not worth the reputation cost."
Still, Democrats have pointed to polls showing a repeal is deeply unpopular and
say they will prevail in protecting the rules, either in the courts or in U.S.
Congress.
Immediately after the vote, Senator Edward Markey, a Democrat, said he and 15
other senators planned to introduce a resolution to undo the FCC action and
restore the net neutrality rules.
FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, a Democrat, said in a written dissent
released on Thursday that the decision grants internet providers "extraordinary
new power" from the FCC.
"They have the technical ability and business incentive to discriminate and
manipulate your internet traffic," she said. "And now this agency gives them the
legal green light to go ahead."
Several state attorneys general said before the vote they would oppose the
ruling, citing issues with the public comment period. Other critics have said
they will consider challenging what they see as weaker enforcement.
The 2015 rules were intended to give consumers equal access to web content and
prevent broadband providers from favoring their own content. Those practices are
now allowed as long as they are disclosed.
The broadband industry cheered the move. USTelecom, a lobbying group
representing internet providers and broadband companies said after the vote they
had "renewed confidence" to make network investments, particularly in rural
communities.
On the other side, the trade group Internet Association, whose members include
content providers Alphabet, Facebook and Pandora Media Inc, said "the fight
isn't over" and that it was weighing legal options in a lawsuit against the FCC
order.
A University of Maryland poll had found more than 80 percent of respondents
opposed a repeal. The survey of 1,077 registered voters was conducted online by
the Program for Public Consultation from Dec. 6-8.
(Reporting by David Shepardson, Diane Bartz, Katanga Johnson; Writing by Chris
Sanders; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli and Bill Trott)
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