FCC’s net neutrality repeal now official

The Federal Communications Commission’s repeal of net neutrality rules, which had required internet service providers to offer equal access to all web content, took effect Monday.

The rules, enacted by the administration of President Barack Obama in 2015, prohibited internet providers from charging more for certain content or from giving preferential treatment to certain websites.

After the commission voted to repeal the rules in December, it faced a public outcry, legal challenges from state attorneys general and public interest groups, and a push by Democratic lawmakers to overturn the decision. The opponents argued the repeal would open the door for service providers to censor content online or charge additional fees for better service — something that could hurt small companies — and several states have taken steps to impose the rules on a local level.

Still, the repeal was a big win for Ajit Pai, the FCC’s chairman, who has long opposed the regulations, saying they impeded innovation. He once said they were based on “hypothetical harms and hysterical prophecies of doom.”

In an op-ed column published on CNET on Monday, Mr. Pai argued that the repeal was good for consumers because it restored the Federal Trade Commission’s authority over internet service providers.

“In 2015, the FCC stripped the FTC — the nation’s premier consumer protection agency — of its authority over internet service providers. This was a loss for consumers and a mistake we have reversed,” Mr. Pai wrote.

He also insisted during an interview Monday on “CBS This Morning” that “consumers are going to be protected.

“Both at the FCC, we have a transparency rule where every company in the U.S. has to disclose their business practices, and the Federal Trade Commission is empowered to take action against any company who engages in any anti-competitive conducts,” Mr. Pai said.

Critics say the FTC is backward-looking and there will be no rules to keep ISPs from hurting consumers in the first place.

Several states are enacting their own rules, or are in the process of adopting net neutrality rules. In California, SB 822 is scheduled for Assembly committee hearings this week after the state senate approved it at the end of May.

And advocacy groups continue to fight.

“The gutting of net neutrality is a symbol of our broken democracy,” said Evan Greer, deputy director of Fight For the Future, in a statement Monday. “It’s the worst of the worst that the D.C. swamp has to offer. But it has sparked an unprecedented backlash from across the political spectrum, and internet users are coming out of the woodwork to fight tooth and nail in Congress, in the courts, and at the local and state level.”