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Our Long, National net neutrality nightmare may soon come to an end, with the promise of a free and open Internet.
In an op-ed published in Wired today, the Federal Communications Commission chairman Tom Wheeler unveiled the proposal he plans to introduce to the FCC members. This comes after a federal court struck down the FCC’s net neutrality rules in January of 2014.
“These enforceable, bright-line rules will ban paid prioritization, and the blocking and throttling of lawful content and services,” Wheeler writes about his proposal, which he says are the “strongest net neutrality rules ever.”
These set of rules, which Wheeler writes “assures the rights of internet users to go where they want, when they want, and the rights of innovators to introduce new products without asking anyone’s permission,” follows suit with remarks that President Barack Obama made in November, when he urged the FCC to adopt a strict net neutrality plan.
But Wheeler wasn’t always in sync with Obama’s net neutrality view points. As the Post notes, Wheeler “Wheeler wasn’t always sold” on Obama’s idea:
Let’s rewind to last January, when a federal court tossed out the FCC’s existing rules on the grounds that the agency had exceeded its congressionally granted authority. In the wake of that ruling, Wheeler said he’d follow the court’s “roadmap” to a solution that would stay on the right side of the law.
In the spring, he rolled out a proposed rule that many ISPs liked but consumer groups hated. The problem? It tacitly allowed for Internet providers to speed up some forms of Web traffic in exchange for payment — a tactic known as paid prioritization. This is the one thing net neutrality rules were supposed to prevent.
But in the meantime, it seems Wheeler has come around. “I propose to fully apply—for the first time ever—those bright-line rules to mobile broadband,” he writes. And to ensure that broadband operators aren’t totally screwed in his proposal, he writes that his proposal “will modernize Title II, tailoring it for the 21st century, in order to provide returns necessary to construct competitive networks. For example, there will be no rate regulation, no tariffs, no last-mile unbundling.”
So what’s next? Well, the FCC needs to vote on Wheeler’s proposal, which they’re scheduled to do on February 26. Until then, just rewatch John Oliver’s blistering, hilarious, and brilliant rant about net neutrality and why it’s important:
