FCC has attempted to restore net neutrality rules to provide a uniform internet framework nationwide.
Here are the details of the news.
FCC Wants To Re-establish Net Neutrality Rules
On Thursday, the United States communications regulatory body, the Federal Communication Commission (FCC), voted to re-establish net neutrality rules.
Net neutrality states that all internet traffic should be treated equally, regardless of source or destination. Through the rules designed to protect the open and free internet, the FCC has proposed considering broadband internet service as an essential “telecommunications” service under Title II of the Communications Act.
The FCC said, “Under this act, without authority, no federal agency can effectively monitor or help with broadband outages that threaten jobs, education, health, and safety.”
The new rules also propose to prevent Internet Service Providers (ISPs) from “blocking legal content, throttling speeds, and creating fast lanes that favour those who can pay for access.”
Internet service providers cannot block or prioritize specific traffic types.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said, “The law requires telecommunications providers to protect the confidentiality of the proprietary information of their customers.”
“That means these providers cannot sell your location data, among other sensitive information. Those privacy protections currently extend to voice customers but not broadband subscribers.”
“Does that really make sense? Do we want our broadband providers selling what we do online? Scraping our service for a payday from new artificial intelligence models? Doing any of this without our permission?”
Rosenworcel further said, “We know competition is the best way to bring down rates for consumers. And approaches like the Affordable Connectivity Program are the best bet for making sure service is affordable for all.”
“We will not let broadband providers, gatekeepers to the internet, dictate what we can and cannot say online. And we will not undermine incentives to invest in broadband networks, which were robust as ever when these rules were in place.”
The FCC adopted the net neutrality rules for the first time in 2015. However, they were repealed by former President Donald Trump’s government in 2017.
In 2023, President Joe Biden’s administration supported the net neutrality rule by issuing an order to the FCC to reinstate the open internet rule to make the internet accessible to every American.
The FCC’s Chairwoman Jessica Rosenwrcel introduced the net neutrality proposal on Thursday to bring a nationwide unified telecommunications framework.
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