Federal Communications Commission About Net Neutrality

Introduction

Net neutrality is the principle whereby Internet traffic is all treated the same. This means that the contents or data on the Internet are accessible to everyone. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) connect consumers to the materials or sources on the Internet. Net neutrality ensures that ISPs do not intentionally influence what consumers can see, how fast they can see it, or charge consumers more to access certain contents. In the USA, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has had changing views on this issue. The principle was passed as an order in 2015 but was repealed in 2017.

Net Neutrality Under the Obama Administration

In 2015, under Obama's administration, the FCC passed the net neutrality order to safeguard this principle (Federal Communications Commission, 2015). It ensures that ISPs do not control web traffic or offer more benefits to companies that pay them more money. Without net neutrality, the FCC believed that it would be unfair to small or new companies or technologies that want to grow. There may also be fewer competitors, leading to less stress for companies to innovate. This is because ISPs might choose to favor those bigger companies that they can benefit from instead of giving new companies a chance. Hence, this suggests that net neutrality allows companies, big or small, to compete equally on the Internet. Furthermore, the FCC wanted consumers to be able to enjoy the benefits of accessing the Internet without restrictions and not be deceived by ISPs who could control which content, quality, and speed of content flow to the consumers. Moreover, the FCC felt that net neutrality would encourage more broadband investment and equipment, which was important since the USA needed more and better broadband. Thus, the FCC believed in the importance of net neutrality for the country (Risen, 2015).

The Repeal of Net Neutrality in 2017

However, in 2017, the rule for net neutrality was taken down through voting. The FCC thought that the rule was a wrong decision. They believed that net neutrality discouraged innovation or ideas that ISPs could freely try since they were under much control of the FCC (Federal Communications Commission, 2017). Smaller ISP companies also could not come in and improve access to remote, non-urban areas, allowing more consumers' reach to the Internet. This is because the cost of covering the regulations leads to ISPs not having enough benefits or funds to build or invest in better infrastructures that could benefit consumers. Furthermore, greater investment in the network infrastructure could have created more jobs for people. The FCC also believed that net neutrality did not encourage market competition among the ISPs due to the regulations. Thus, it may lead to higher prices, slower speed, and fewer choices of broadband for consumers. This suggests that consumers would be disadvantaged and would not be able to enjoy access to the Internet as much as they want. Hence, the FCC was not in favor of net neutrality as it did not bring much advantage to people (Reardon, 2017).

Conclusion

Overall, the FCC changed from supporting net neutrality to opposing it. This is due to a change in the chairperson of the FCC who had differing views. However, the FCC still believes in allowing people to enjoy a free and open Internet. Hence, ISPs have to provide information about their network management practices. The Federal Trade Commission also could safeguard net neutrality to a certain extent if the ISPs violate the laws of fair competition. The ongoing debate reflects the complexities of balancing innovation, competition, and consumer rights in an increasingly digital world.

References

• Federal Communications Commission. (2015). Protecting and promoting the open Internet. Retrieved from https://www.fcc.gov/document/protecting-and-promoting-open-internet
• Federal Communications Commission. (2017). Restoring Internet freedom. Retrieved from https://www.fcc.gov/document/restoring-internet-freedom
• Reardon, M. (2017, December 14). FCC votes to repeal net neutrality rules. CNET. Retrieved from https://www.cnet.com/news/fcc-votes-to-repeal-net-neutrality-rules
• Risen, T. (2015, February 26). FCC approves net neutrality rules. U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved from https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/02/26/fcc-approves-net-neutrality-rules