One of the longest-running debates about internet access is nearing a new resolution, and the outcome could affect everything you do online.
You might remember the net neutrality debate from a decade ago. Originally voted in by the Federal Communications Commission during the Obama administration, net neutrality guidelines were subsequently ended by Donald Trump’s FCC in 2017. Now there’s a new push for the guidelines, under President Joe Biden.
In September, FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel proposed restoring net neutrality rules, and the agency is primed to vote on April 25.
Net neutrality is the principle that all internet traffic should be treated equally — meaning your broadband provider won’t slow down or speed up sites you visit according to whether those sites pay extra money to have their traffic prioritized, or whether they have a special relationship with your provider. For instance, if you get your internet through Comcast, then it shouldn’t speed up access to its own streaming service Peacock while slowing down rival services like Netflix and Disney Plus.
Reinstating net neutrality rules should be a top priority, said Free Press Co-CEO Jessica J. González. Free Press is a media and technology watchdog.
“People across the country are demanding these open-internet safeguards, which will allow the FCC to ensure that everyone in the United States — no matter their location, political persuasion, race or income — has affordable, reliable and safe internet connections free from discrimination, blocking or other ISP manipulation,” González said in a statement in October.
Broadband providers deny they prioritize or slow down traffic according to financial interests, but there have been incidents in the past. A full discussion also has to take into consideration the need to simply manage high volumes of traffic. New rules, however, could offer a safeguard against egregious throttling or site prioritization.
Net neutrality regulations would “protect the internet,” the Electronic Frontier Foundation said last year.
“The idea that ISPs could prevent access to certain sites, slow down rates and speeds for certain users, isn’t just horrendous — it’s vastly unpopular,” the EFF said. “When ISPs charge tolls or put up road blocks, it comes at the expense of all segments of society, and undermines internet access as a right.”
What will the new net neutrality rules mean, and when will they kick in?
In keeping with the Obama-era rules, the FCC wants to reaffirm that broadband is an essential service much like water, power and phone services, by designating it a “common carrier” under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934.
Free Press says this will give the FCC the authority to hold phone and cable companies like Verizon, AT&T and Xfinity accountable for outages and potential monopoly abuses, and to ensure the affordability and availability of internet services.
After soliciting comments and feedback, the FCC will be voting April 25 on the final rule that would restore net neutrality.
What impact could net neutrality rules have on you?
The concept of net neutrality means preventing broadband and wireless providers from acting as gatekeepers to what we can access, and how fast.
An open and accessible internet has become an essential part of democracy and everyday life, enabling free speech, political organization, activism, education, health care, shopping, entertainment and business opportunities.
The American Civil Liberties Union is in favor of net neutrality rules being reinstated, calling the internet one of the most important communications services and saying that everyone, regardless of income, race and ethnicity, should have access to affordable, fast and reliable broadband. During the COVID-19 pandemic, as more of our lives moved online, the digital divide became more apparent.
“The internet is our nation’s primary marketplace of ideas, and it’s critical that access to that marketplace is not controlled by the profit-seeking whims of powerful telecommunications giants,” said Jenna Leventoff, ACLU senior policy counsel, in a statement.
What do ISPs say about net neutrality?
Many providers say they agree with these principles. Comcast’s web page on net neutrality says it does “not block, slow down or discriminate against lawful content.”
“We are for sustainable and legally enforceable net neutrality protections for our customers,” said Comcast, which runs the home broardband service Xfinity.
Verizon also says it supports net neutrality and a free and open internet.
“We will not throttle or slow down any internet traffic based on its source or content,” Verizon’s broadband commitment says. “We will not accept payments from any company to deliver its traffic faster or sooner than other traffic on our consumer broadband service, nor will we deliver our affiliates’ internet traffic faster or sooner than third parties’. We will not prioritize traffic in a way that harms competition or consumers.”
So with pledges like that, do we need net neutrality rules? The ACLU says internet service providers were slowing down traffic to streaming services like YouTube and Netflix as recently as a few years ago, citing research from Northeastern University.
At the same time, the ACLU says, AT&T was allowing its customers to stream its own product, DirecTV Now, without it counting towards their monthly data cap. AT&T stopped this practice after California passed its net neutrality law in 2021.
Action at the state level has been driving net neutrality efforts in recent years. Legislation has been passed in California, Oregon, Washington, Vermont, Maine and Colorado, while executive orders mandate net neutrality in at least four other states.
The ACLU says a “subtle” form of breaching net neutrality, which is more easily found today, is when wireless providers discount or include certain streaming services for customers, saying those companies are “promoting specific web services over competitors.”
How much control would the FCC have?
ISPs and affiliated trade associations are adamant that net neutrality regulation is unnecessary — and say it could actually harm us.
Joel Thayer, president of advocacy group Digital Progress Institute, told CNET there’s no reason for regulation after the 2017 demise of net neutrality.
“There hasn’t been one instance of an ISP blocking a website or slowing down the access of any content you want to see since the repeal of those rules,” he said. “All of the net neutrality violations are happening on the tech side of the network — outside the FCC’s reach.”
What’s happening outside of the FCC’s reach? While internet providers are continuing to expand and diversify among cable operators, wireless companies and thousands of smaller providers, Thayer points to “four companies” controlling access and competition online: Amazon, Apple, Google and Meta.
“Google owns more than 90% of search and 80% of the ad-tech market,” he said. “Apple has an iron grip on iPhone users.”
Thayer points out that the Federal Trade Commission already handles consumer protection from monopolies. Indeed, Google is already facing an antitrust lawsuit about its alleged monopoly over online ads, and another over its alleged online search monopoly; Apple won an antitrust lawsuit over its in-app payments earlier this year, and will be facing one about Apple Pay next; Meta has faced antitrust accusations over its alleged social media monopoly, while the FTC is reportedly gearing up to file an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon’s online retail empire.
“The ISP industry is, I think, the least of customers’ concerns. No customers are complaining about what’s going on that front,” AT&T CEO John Stankey said during AT&T’s third-quarter earnings call on Oct. 19.
But those four tech giants aren’t the companies running internet lines up to people’s houses or apartments and charging them to get online (the modest footprint of Google Fiber notwithstanding).
While Apple, Google, Meta and Amazon were in favor of net neutrality rules back in 2017, none of them responded to requests for comment on the FCC’s latest efforts.
Will net neutrality harm broadband access?
Thayer argues that net neutrality, by imposing blanket rules on prioritizing traffic, would interfere with legitimate network management concerns — it would affect applications like gaming, for instance, that require higher throughput.
The same goes for streaming TV and movies. “The FCC’s actions here can really only adversely impact those services due to the incredible amount of bandwidth,” Thayer says. “All of them require high throughput and network prioritization given that most people are migrating over to wireless technologies to access these services via 5G networks.”
The CTIA, a trade association that represents the wireless communications industry, mentions supporting an open internet on its net neutrality page. But in response to the FCC’s decision, CTIA CEO Meredith Attwell Baker said net neutrality “undermines our ability to achieve those goals while also putting at risk American competitiveness.”
“The FCC should instead focus on closing the digital divide, facilitating competition, and advancing access to the spectrum we need to invest and innovate,” she said on Oct. 19.
The CEO of the trade association USTelecom, Jonathan Spalter, called on Congress to pass its own legislation on net neutrality, much as individual states and voters have done across the nation.
“Retrofitting outdated rules onto today’s competitive broadband networks is simply the wrong approach,” Spalter said. “Congress must step in to end this ludicrous regulatory rinse and repeat cycle.”
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