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Net Neutrality Rules Die on April 23 (theverge.com)

Posted by msmash on from the end-of-an-era dept.

The Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality rules will be no more in two months, as the agency takes the final step in removing the regulation from its rule book. From a report: The date -- April 23 -- was revealed today after the Federal Communication Commission's order revoking net neutrality was published in the Federal Register. You can read the full order here. The publication means that a new fight around net neutrality is about to begin. States and other parties will be able to sue over the rules -- some have already gotten started -- and a battle in Congress will kick off over a vote to reverse the order entirely. While that fight likely won't get far in Congress since Republicans by and large oppose net neutrality and control both chambers, there will likely be a long and heated legal battle around the corner for the FCC's new policy. The FCC's new rules are really a lack of rules. Its "Restoring Internet Freedom" order entirely revokes the strong net neutrality regulations put in place back in 2015 and replaces them with basically nothing. Internet providers can now block, throttle, and prioritize content if they want to. The only real rule here is that they have to disclose if they're doing any of this.

8 of 237 comments (clear)

  1. Already begun by 110010001000 · · Score: 5, Funny

    If you start seeing nginx errors on your favorite websites, you will know you have been affected.

  2. Throw out the Republicans by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Republican politicians are paid not to understand that utilities such as Comcast and Verizon were heavily subsidized by taxpayers to create the foundation of their service, and hence need to be regulated so that they don't just do whatever the heck they want to make the most coin for themselves.

    And of course it's the same with gun control, with the NRA; with climate change, with the fossil fuel industries; and with food safety, with big agriculture.

    Not saying Democratic politicians are more ethical, but their traditional big money interest (organized labor) is frankly dying anyway.

    1. Re:Throw out the Republicans by gnick · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You're right. Why try? Let's start handing out pistols when kids get their driver's license and let them fend for themselves! NOTHING is going to prevent the next shooting, but handing an AR-15 to a mentally deranged teenager with a history of threatening violence seems like a common-sense bad idea.

      It confuses me that some of our lawmakers are saying that laws are pointless.

      --
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  3. Bill ISPs ? by psergiu · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If the ISPs are no longer Common Carriers, can i bill AT&T for the use of my land for their buried cable and distribution box in my front yard given that i'm not their customer ?
    $10/day/feet sounds reasonable :)

    --
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    1. Re:Bill ISPs ? by duke_cheetah2003 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Geez, people! Chill! It's not like the internet prior to 2015 under Obama was some hellish totalitarian/dystopian nightmare.

      Maybe because NN rules were put in place, because some ISP were definitely becoming... unfair, for lack of a better word.

      Guess we'll find out soon enough. Hope you enjoy paying to access your favorite websites. Roll out the walled gardens, it's coming. Unless lawmakers come up with some new regulations, you can bet your panties ISP's will run and run hard with their new found freedom. They going to want to entrench non-neutrality practices as quickly as possible to make it that much more difficult to reverse. Once they are entrenched, they can bellyache how new regulations will wreck their business model, stifling any hopes of restoring neutrality.

  4. Mini poll by rsilvergun · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Is this going to change how anyone votes? Will you be voting against a candidate because of this? Will you vote in a party primary? Will you vote in other elections you otherwise wouldn't (like mid terms) or be voting for the first time in years?

    --
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  5. Magnet/BitTorrent by djbckr · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I see this as an excuse for Comcast and their ilk to block Magnet and BitTorrent traffic. Watch that be one of the first things to quit working.

  6. Only Federal Rules Die. Let the states regulate NN by schwit1 · · Score: 3

    The GOP says it supports state's rights. Time for them to put up or shut up.