Like a telecommunications policy-focused Justin Timberlake, the FCC is bringing net neutrality back
Five years after the elimination of net neutrality regulations in the US, FCC chairwoman Juliana Rosenworcel has begun the process of bringing them back, saying that restoring the FCC's authority over broadband service in the US is needed to ensure the internet «is not only open, but fast and fair, safe and secure.»
The concept of net neutrality was introduced in the early 2000s, and is pretty simple in the broad strokes: It essentially requires that all data be treated equally, and forbids ISPs from throttling speeds or blocking access based on the content being delivered. The Open Internet Order, enacted in 2015 during the Obama administration, enshrined that concept into law, but in 2017, under President Trump, the FCC voted to dismantle the regulations.
It wasn't a clean break. The FCC's vote to end net neutrality was 3-2, breaking along party lines, and there was substantial opposition from the general public and organizations including the ACLU, EFF, Google, and some smaller internet providers. Some US states, including California, New Jersey, and Oregon, responded by enacting their own net neutrality regulations, in opposition to the FCC's stance that they weren't allowed to do so. It was all a bit of a mess, really.
The push to restore net neutrality crystallized in 2021 with an executive order signed by newly-elected President Joe Biden, which «encourages the FCC to restore Net Neutrality rules undone by the prior administration.» The drive was further strengthened by the appointment of Rosenworcel as FCC chair, replacing former FCC chairman Ajit Pai, who had led the effort to end net neutrality.
Net neutrality isn't back yet, but the wheels are now turning in earnest. «The Chairwoman is proposing the FCC take
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