In a shocking change to internet protocols in the US, the Federal Communications Commission has voted to repeal net neutrality.
The FCC voted to repeal the landmark rules that protect consumers from being charged special prices for accessing certain parts of the internet. By scraping the neutrality regulations, The FCC just opened the doorway for Internet service providers to block websites or make users pay more to get some content.
Members of the FCC board voted to remove the regulations in a 3-2 vote. Before the vote, Apple warned the FCC that by ending net neutrality the FCC would be “fundamentally altering the internet as we know it today.”
The Death of Net Neutrality
Trump’s appointed FCC chairman, Ajit Pai, claims that rolling back net neutrality rules would be a great thing. Pai says that it will allow companies like AT&T and Comcast to offer a wider range of service options.
“We are helping consumers and promoting competition,” Mr. Pai said after the vote, according to the New York Times. “Broadband providers will have more incentive to build networks, especially to underserved areas.”
Allow though it’s true that repealing net neutrality does give multi-billion dollar corporations more room to offer different services, it also allows them to charge more for the internet access we’re used to today.
Critics alleged that by gutting net neutrality, startups may be forced to pay ISPs higher feeds to access customers. Or huge companies like Apple, Facebook and Google could stifle competition by paying for fast lanes that make their services faster than their rivals’.
Many ISPs have told customers that their experience will not change, so it’s unclear how much the internet will change in the near future. But now that the protections are off, there’s nothing to stop them from doing stuff like this:
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
