FCC Moves Forward With Restoring Internet Freedom

FILE - This June 19, 2015, file photo, shows the Federal Communications Commission building in Washington. Cellphone and broadband providers are excluding some video from data caps, meaning consumers have more data available for other apps and services. But the net neutrality rules from the Federal Communications Commission don’t ban these practices, saying it could benefit consumers in some cases. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

Under Barack Obama, the Federal Communications Commission imposed federal regulation of the Internet. Ajit Pai, the new chairman of the commission, has started the process of reversing that, and today’s 2-1 vote gets things going. Here’s what happens next.

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Technically what the FCC did today is give notice of proposed rule making (NPRM). They’ve officially given notice of plans to implement Ajit Pai’s plan to undo the Obama-era power grab, and restore the Internet to a light touch.

What happens next is that the FCC will open up for public comment on the proposed rules. Naturally John Oliver and friends will rabble rouse a combination of racist and spam comments sent to the FCC, claiming that Ajit Pai is a pedophile because he’s Indian, and that he’s not a real American.

Once the public comment period is done, the FCC will consider the comments, make adjustments to the rules, and then move toward a final vote. I expect the plan will survive the comment period largely intact, just as the original Open Internet Order did.

And then we can get back to rolling out home fiber optic Internet, just as we were doing when Obama’s regulations froze that investment. Better speeds for more people.

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