Bid to end web ‘neutrality’ stirs gouging fears

IT’S THE END of the World Wide Web as we know it.

Net neutrality could go the way of MySpace and floppy disks if the new head of the Federal Communications Commission has his way.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai unveiled his controversial plan Tuesday to repeal Obama-era protections intended to keep the internet open and fair.

“Under my proposal, the federal government will stop micromanaging the Internet,” Pai (photo) said in a statement.

“Instead, the FCC would simply require Internet service providers to be transparent about their practices.”

A repeal would set in motion a seismic shift in the way the internet is regulated.

Under current net neutrality rules, approved in 2015, internet providers like Comcast and AT&T are not allowed to play favorites with specific websites or apps by slowing down or speeding up traffic.

Critics responded quickly, pointing out that in May, researchers discovered that the FCC’s public comment process was being sabotaged by the submission of fake comments about the proposed repeal.

“In an era where foreign governments have indisputably tried to use the internet and social media to influence our elections, federal and state governments should be working together to ensure that malevolent actors cannot subvert our administrative agencies’ decisionmaking processes,” New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman wrote in an open letter to Pai. Supporters of net neutrality said a repeal would allow companies to charge even more for internet service and block access to certain websites. “#NetNeutrality is critical to ensuring the internet remains a place where people can come together, make their voices heard, & make change,” tweeted Patty Murray (D-Wash.) “We have to fight back.” “Taking away #NetNeutrality is the Authoritarian dream,” tweeted actor Mark Ruffalo. “Consolidating information into the hands of a few controlled by a few. Dangerous territory.” Broadband expert Maya Wiley, senior vice president for Social Justice at The New School, said the FCC “is setting the country on a path to information inequality.”

“Even now, in the digital age, many Americans don’t have equal access — or any access — to the internet because it has become too costly,” Wiley said.

“Telecommunications companies have failed to invest in our communities, and now the FCC seeks to allow companies to give preferential access to content and speed for customers who pay more.”

The proposal drew enough internet outrage to keep the hashtag #NetNeutrality trending on Twitter for much of the day.

The proposal from Pai, a Republican, is expected to be approved during a Dec. 14 meeting.

Three of the five commission members are Republican, although a legal challenge is expected.