The FCC Repealed Net Neutrality. What Happens Next?
Chairman Ajit Pai rushed the repeal of net neutrality and it got a 3–2 ruling among the FCC’s commissioners, but the fight isn’t over yet.
During her speech, FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said that the decision to repeal Net Neutrality “puts the Federal Communication Commission on the wrong side of history.” She and Mignon Clyburn were the only commissioners who were against the act. Chairman Ajit Pai, Michael O’Rielly and Brendan Carr, all of whom are Republicans, voted in favor of a repeal.
The Obama administration implemented net neutrality rules in 2015 that forced internet service providers (ISPs) like Comcast and Verizon to treat all websites (Facebook, Twitter) and services (Netflix) equally. Under that law, those telecommunications companies weren’t allowed to block websites or charge consumers to view content. In a nutshell, this repeal allows them to do just that. What went down on Thursday isn’t promising, and it’s bad for the future. However, we as internet users won’t feel the effects right away.
Pai, appointed to his position by our Child-in-Chief Donald Trump, wanted to peel back net neutrality because he felt it’s stifled innovation and has caused investment in the telecom industry to decrease, which is, well, not entirely accurate. US Telecom created a graphic, titled “U.S. Broadband Provider Capital Expenditures, 2006–2016.” This chart, which you can view here, shows that investment has more or less plateaued since net neutrality’s implementation. There has been a slight dropoff, but nothing to concerning. If you want more knowledge on the subject, Steve Kovach wrote up a brilliant piece for Business Insider this past November.
Fortunately, just because the repeal passed doesn’t mean it’s going to be enacted. America, believe it or not, is a democracy, and these rules will go through various courts before becoming official. (Just a side note: 83 percent of voters are in favor of net neutrality. “Democracy,” am I right? Shrug emoji.)
First, Pai’s ruling enters the federal register, the holding cell for the government’s important papers. Following that, BI’s Kovach notes that it’ll be “some 60 days” for the rules to take place; while that’s happening, legal teams will be assembling across the country. Also, we — the public — won’t let this topic fall out of the conversation. While you’re conducting last minute Christmas shopping and enjoying the holidays with your family, it’s vital to go through as many actionable steps as possible.
Talking is good, but words don’t move Congress unless they’re directed at them. Contacting your state’s representatives is crucial. After all, the FCC can’t act on something unless Congress writes it. I’ll have two links at the bottom of this piece that are resources in this battle
As citizens, however, there’s only so much we can do. The rest of the process then becomes a legal battle, something of which I’m not familiar. If you have friends that are law students or lawyers, talk to them and try to gather more information.
One lawsuit that the FCC has coming to them is led by Eric Schneiderman, the Attorney General of New York. He wrote about how a fraudulent comment system stole the identities of two million Americans across various states, and the FCC’s blatant disregard for that illegal activity is a “mockery of government integrity and rewards the very perpetrators who scammed the system to advance their own agenda.”
As disheartening as it is to think that those in power can so easily buck democracy, it doesn’t mean that the fight is over. There are a million and one cliches that talk about losing the battle but not the war; how pressure makes diamonds; how tough times don’t last, but tough people do. The people — us, me, you, your mom, your dad — still hold power, and the senators acknowledge that.
Back in November, Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) spoke with TechCrunch’s Devin Coldewey about net neutrality and how the voters ultimately play the most significant part. “We can generate a lot of emails, and that’s great,” said Schatz. “But the moment those emails are converted to votes, we win.” As someone who’s been critical of the presidential voting process (the Electoral College, specifically), voting for Senators is different. Earlier this week we saw black men and black women in Alabama go out and take down Roy Moore.
“This has to be a real political movement that does things in real life. We’ve got work to do.”
Resources:
Battle For The Net — information about net neutrality; provides ways to contact representatives who are in favor of the repeal
ACLU Action — provides a petition that serves as a way to force Congress members into action
Text “Battle” to 384–387
