Why Net Neutrality Supporters Might Go to Court to Save the Rules

However, the election of Donald Trump and ascendance of FCC commissioner Ajit Pai to the chairmanship suggested the fight was about to pick up again.

In a speech, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai said Wednesday he is proposing a new rule-making proceeding to reverse the 2015 rule that reclassified internet providers as common carriers, subjecting them to utility-style FCC oversight. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Commerce Committee. "He attempts to portray basic free speech protections as heavy handed government regulation [.] Internet users will fight tooth and nail to defend our basic right to connect, create, learn, and share". He called net neutrality a "black cloud" for internet providers that has caused "less access, fewer American jobs" thanks to declines in infrastructure investments. Opponents say it would allow companies like Comcast and Verizon to speed up or slow down certain sites or services. He added that it will boost competition, since "Title II was designed for a monopoly, and a regulatory framework designed for a monopoly will tend to move the marketplace towards monopoly".

AT&T Chairman & CEO Randall Stephenson said Wednesday, "We applaud FCC Chairman Pai's initiative to remove this stifling regulatory cloud over the internet", and he described the 2015 rules as "illogical". Over 800 tech start-ups, including Engine Advocacy, Y Combinator and Techstars wrote to Pai, asking that net neutrality rules not be reversed. What that means in practice is that big companies can't build high-speed channels for themselves while everyone else is jammed up in the slow lane. Consumer groups have argued that Internet providers have a strong incentive to force websites such as Netflix or Google to pay a fee in order to be displayed on consumers' screens, which could affect what services consumers can see and access online. "It's nearly as if the special interests pushing Title II weren't trying to solve a real problem but instead looking for an excuse to achieve their longstanding goal of forcing the Internet under the federal government's control". Those regulations were recently overturned in a bill that passed through the Republican-led Congress and was subsequently signed into law by Trump.

The first step in Pai's plan to reverse broadband Title II reclassification was to circulate a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) seeking input on a recommendation that would cause broadband to again be treated as a more lightly regulated information service, as it was prior to 2015. "In a fantasy world, all would be fine with a pinkie swear not to interrupt pathways and portals to the internet despite a history of doing that".

Pai's plan to rewrite those rules will take some time and will be subject to comments and revisions.

Q: Are there net neutrality rules now? Considering that the panel now has a Republican majority, however, Pai's proposals are likely to face little resistance.