FCC Passes Strict Net Neutrality Regulations

The FCC, as expected, passed new net neutrality rules by a 3-2 vote. “No one, whether government or corporate, should control free and open access to the Internet,” FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said. “The Internet is too important to allow broadband providers to make the rules.” The rule reclassifies fixed and mobile broadband as a telecommunications service, so it will be regulated like a utility. The vote was in response to plans by Internet service providers to allow faster, more efficient speeds to companies willing to pay for it. The agency received more than 4 million public comments on the issue, largely in favor, while ISPs Comcast, AT&T and Verizon lobbied heavily against.