The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced that the country’s net neutrality protections are set to be repealed by June 11, 2018.
This would put an end to the net neutrality rules that were put in place during the time of the Obama administration.
Essentially, net neutrality under the Obama administration meant “equal opportunity for Internet speeds and access to websites” with “no unfair fast or slow lanes, and no blocking of anything that’s legal on your phone, computer or tablet,” according to a 2015 article from CNN.
This would stop broadband companies, such as Verizon (NYSE:VZ) and AT&T (NYSE:T), from being able to block, slow down, or speed up traffic from specific apps and websites for example.
The FCC filed a notice on Thursday, stating that the new rulings, which would allow these companies to influence internet traffic, will be put into effect on June 11, 2018.
According to an article from CNN Money, over “20 states have filed a lawsuit to stop the net neutrality repeal.”
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The new rulings will also “prevent states from pursuing laws inconsistent with the net neutrality repeal.”
Roslyn Layton, who served on President Donald Trump’s transition committee for the FCC, has said that it would be “patently illegal for…states to make their own internet policy.”
According to the FCC’s Chairman, Ajit Pai, the new regulations will repeal “unnecessary and harmful internet regulations” and will restore “the bipartisan, light-touch approach that served the online world well for nearly 20 years.”
Internet service providers will still have to provide information regarding any possible congestion management, application-specific behavior, device attachment rules, security practices, or any blocking, throttling, affiliated prioritization and paid prioritization that they do.
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Senate Democrats are attempting to stop the ruling by pushing for a vote on a bill that would overturn it.
The bill has a chance to get past the Senate, but will have much difficulty getting through the House, as CNN has stated, that it would “likely be vetoed by President Donald Trump.”
The new rulings have also been opposed by internet companies, such as Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), according to a recent article from Reuters.
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