Gate – Gizmodo

Do you remember net neutralitylthis? It may seem like ancient history now, but there was a time when regulators actually joined forces introducing barriers that prevent greedy telecommunications companies from distributing Internet access to the highest bidders. Then Trump and Ajit Pai has become. Now, nearly five years after the Federal Communications Commission voted to reject net neutrality protections, a handful of Democratic lawmakers are working to codify those protections into law.

This week, Democratic senators Ed Markey and Ron Wyden introduced Net Neutrality and Broadband Fairness Act, that would officially classify broadband access as an essential service. Lawmakers say that once this categorization is in place, the FCC will have the authority to enforce net neutrality rules that prohibit bandwidth throttling and other discriminatory actions by Internet providers. Additionally, According to Markey, the bill would give the FCC the ability to enact broadband policies that “increase accessibility and close the digital divide.”

What is net neutrality?

For those who still don’t understand the jargon, net neutrality refers to rules and regulations designed to encourage equal access to the Internet. Under these rules, ISPs would be prohibited from creating “fast lanes” on the Internet or giving certain companies or individuals preferential treatment. Net neutrality supporters argue that these protections would essentially prohibit mobile or broadband providers from blocking or throttling internet traffic.

The new bill would make the law an issue that President Joe Biden’s administration has promoted since the beginning of his presidency. Last year, Biden signed the so-called executive order ordering the FCC to restore Obama-era net neutrality protections. Biden also hired Tim Wu, the man who literally invented the term net neutrality, and appointed him as a special assistant to the National Economic Council. For bureaucratic reasons that are too complex and convoluted to go into here, the FCC remains political stuck despite Democratic control of Congress and the presidency. This makes regulatory changes to net neutrality at the FCC level almost impossible. This bill would avoid this regulatory nonsense by codifying net neutrality into law.

The bill already has the support of multiple lawmakers, at least two FCC commissioners and more than a dozen digital rights groups, including Access Now, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, GLAAD and the Center for Accessible Technology.

“The internet is an essential service and our laws should reflect this,” digital rights group Fight for The Future said in an article statement supporting legislation. “Just like gas and electricity, reliable, high-speed internet is crucial to everyday life.”

“The pandemic has made clear that internet access is no longer a luxury but a necessity, and consumers not only need broadband, but must be able to hold their providers accountable,” FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement. “At the end of the day, everyone should be able to go wherever they want and do whatever they want on the Internet without their broadband provider having to make the choice for them,” Rosenworcel said. “I support net neutrality because it promotes openness and accountability. While I trust the FCC has the authority needed to adopt net neutrality rules, legislation that helps ensure it is the law of the land is welcome.

The case for the Internet as an essential service

While AMA On Thursday evening on Reddit, Senator Markey cited information about Verizon limiting the data transmission speed of firefighters during serious fire in Northern California a few years ago as a prime example of the consequences of destroying net neutrality protections in the first place. In a 2018 incident, Santa Clara County’s fire chief publicly criticized Verizon for limiting his department’s communications even though the department had paid for “unlimited data.”

The FCC’s decision to repeal net neutrality meant it had no authority to investigate and potentially punish Verizon for obstructing emergency services. The FCC argued that responsibility was merely delegated to the Federal Trade Commission, but experts said the FTC also did not have the authority to prohibit throttling or upselling in emergencies.

“Net neutrality would provide critical public safety and emergency communications safeguards that would prevent such events from occurring,” Markey said.

Markey added that when Covid-19 hit, “the FCC had NO ability to regulate broadband. We had no way to force broadband providers to do the right thing. We simply had voluntary obligations. It’s unbelievable.”

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