This week the FCC voted to bring back net neutrality. This move brings back rules that ended in 2017.
The rules, first introduced in 2015, designated Internet service providers as Title II companies, which are akin to gas and electric companies, with heavier oversight. They made it through a legal challenge in court before the following administration ordered their dismantling (read the full history of net neutrality here).
The new take on the rules is like the 2015 version and will probably be challenged in court again.
So, what’s next? In short, legal challenges long before this will ever take effect. Already a growing number of Internet providers have stated they will fight net neutrality.
“The FCC’s proposal to reinstate Title II regulation of broadband is not only misguided—it is a missed opportunity,” said Grant Spellmeyer, CEO of ACA Connects, a trade group made up of smaller cable and Internet providers. “We should be working together to improve broadband access and adoption for all Americans, not relitigating the regulatory battles of the past.”
What does this mean for cord cutting? In short, you likely won’t see any changes anytime soon even if the FCC wins the court cases and these rules take effect. The real change is the FCC will now take a larger role in regulating Internet providers. The question will be what does the FCC do with that power going forward.
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