Net neutrality: Free internet finds itself in new landscape

With the Federal Communications Commission sacking net neutrality rules, the EFF argues that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) will now be able to block web providers and discriminate on the basis of content. The EFF says that given two recent Supreme Court Decisions, the public cannot seek justice by using anti-trust remedies. (Electronic Freedom Foundation, November 17, 2017, by Corynne McSherry, Kit Walsh, Mitch Stoltz and Ernesto Falcon)

The FCC will vote on the new rules on December 14 that also prevent states from passing their own net neutrality rules. In The Verge, November 22, 2017, by Jacob Kastrenakes writes, “Net neutrality supporters have long argued that these policies could unfairly advantage ISPs’ own content. But in the proposal, the FCC says it thinks that won’t happen — simply because some web companies are so much wealthier than ISPs. ‘It is unlikely that any ISP, except the very largest, could exercise market power in negotiations with Google or Netflix,’ the proposal says. It also argues that small web companies need not worry, because any deal made between a large web company, like Google, and an ISP would need to be consistent with antitrust laws.”

The Vox published a guide to understanding net neutrality.

For recent FAC coverage of net neutrality click here.