Clock now ticking for Net neutrality
60-day countdown for new rules has begun.
The days are now truly numbered for the federal regulations that prevent Internet service providers from blocking, throttling or prioritizing content on their broadband networks.
And for the groups who want those Net-neutrality rules to stay, the race is on.
Two months ago, the Federal Communications Commission repealed rules that prevented Internet service providers (ISPs) from blocking or slowing legal content. In their place, the agency passed lighter rules that require cable and telecom companies to disclose any slowing as well as prioritization of their own content or that of their partners, with the idea that consumer pressure would force ISPs to play fair.
But the new rules — backed by cable and telecom companies — do not officially go into effect until 60 days after the regulations appear in the Federal Register, which happened Thursday.
That means proponents of the older, stronger so-called Net-neutrality rules, which include several state attorneys general and coalitions of tech companies, have about two months to prevent the new regulations from going into effect in April.
ISPs such as AT&T and Comcast have said they won’t block or throttle legal websites, though some have left open the option of charging more for some content.
Regardless, several initiatives are underway in Congress and at state and local governmental levels to reinstate the 2015 Net-neutrality rules, supported by President Obama and passed by a Democrat-led FCC. Those regula- tions also prohibited ISPs from charging content providers for “fast lanes” that more quickly deliver content.
At the top of Net-neutrality supporters’ wish list: passage of a Congressional Review Act measure to reinstate the original rules. The 1996 CRA lets Congress pass a resolution blocking a rule enacted by a federal agency if it acts within 60 days of notification (via the Federal Register).
A vote on such a resolution is highly unlikely as it requires Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan, both Republicans, to schedule a vote.
To drum up public support for a vote, Sens. Edward Markey, D-Mass., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Pa., will host a press event Tuesdayas part of a planned Net Neutrality National Day of Action. They will be joined by representatives from several pro-Net-neutrality consumer groups.