A majority of commissioners at the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently expressed support for reinstating net neutrality rules, previously abolished in 2017 during the Trump administration. The proposal, which now goes to public scrutiny, also calls for the FCC to take on a regulatory oversight role over broadband Internet access. The FCC has released a draft proposal requesting comments on the classification of fixed and mobile broadband internet services as essential “telecommunications services” under Title II of the Communications Act. Before the Trump era, the president’s administration Barack Obama had implemented rules that prevented internet service providers from blocking or slowing traffic or offering paid fast lanes. The current president, Joe Biden, has always shown a strong interest in restoring net neutrality, but has been prevented for several years due to a 2-2 deadlock among commissioners. In May, Biden nominated Anna Gomez, a former executive of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), as the fifth commissioner, thus guaranteeing the Democrats a majority.
Voting during the Trump administration was 3-2 along party lines, and that trend continued in the latest vote, with Democratic commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel, the current chair, and commissioners Geoffrey Starks and Anna Gomez voting to favor restoring net neutrality, while Republican commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington opposed it. “Nowadays, there is no expert body that guarantees that the internet is fast, open and fair,” Rosenworcel said. She condemned the 2017 decision to abolish net neutrality, saying it put the agency on the wrong side of history, law and the American public. Before the vote, Republican Carr reiterated opposition to returning to net neutrality, arguing that “broadband speeds in the United States have increased, prices have decreased, competition has increased, and new broadband network construction have enabled millions of Americans to bridge the digital divide.”
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