The American Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has voted in favour of repealing net neutrality laws, dealing a fundamental blow to the concept that internet service providers should let their customers access whatever sites and apps they choose – and that they shouldn’t be charged extra for doing so.
The move, announced by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, will allow ISPs to grant their users preferential access to certain sites. For example, an ISP could theoretically speed up the loading times of a site like YouTube, while demoting the loading times of other content.
However, the laws also kept ISPs from charging users extra to access certain types of content. Critics fear that without those regulations, users will be charged extra for those quicker loading times, and could be slugged again to access less popular content.
There are also serious concerns that certain categories of sites could be packaged into access bundles in a similar manner to subscription TV. Theoretically, users could be asked to pay for a ‘Social Media Bundle’ or a similar news package in order to access those sites.
Worse still is the fear that large companies which have come to dominate the online space could actively suppress access to sites owned by competitors, further insulating users from content that isn’t backed by some multinational enterprise.
Several large players in the online space, including Netflix and Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg have already hit back at the move, fearing their users may be shooed away by any extra barriers put in place.
We’re disappointed in the decision to gut #NetNeutrality protections that ushered in an unprecedented era of innovation, creativity & civic engagement. This is the beginning of a longer legal battle. Netflix stands w/ innovators, large & small, to oppose this misguided FCC order.
— Netflix (@netflix) December 14, 2017
There are already rumblings of litigation against the FCC in order to overturn the ruling, but for now, the damage is done. It’s an absolutely fundamental change to how American users will experience the internet, and you can expect the same thing to bubble up here any time now.
