FCC to reintroduce rules protecting net neutrality

The US government aims to restore sweeping regulations for high-speed internet providers such as AT&T, Comcast and Verizon, reviving "net neutrality" rules for the broadband industry - and an ongoing debate about the internet's future.

The proposed rules from the Federal Communications Commission will designate internet service - both the wired kind found in homes and businesses as well as mobile data on cellphones - as "essential telecommunications" akin to traditional telephone services, said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. The rules would ban internet service providers (ISPs) from blocking or slowing down access to websites and online content.

In addition to the prohibitions on blocking and throttling internet traffic, the draft rules also seek to prevent ISPs from selectively speeding up service to favored websites or to those that agree to pay extra fees, Rosenworcel said, a move designed to prevent the emergence of "fast lanes" on the web that could give some websites a paid advantage over others.

With Tuesday's proposal, the FCC aims to restore Obama-era regulations that the FCC under Republican leadership rolled back during the Trump administration.

But the proposal is likely to trigger strong pushback from internet providers who have spent years fighting earlier versions of the rules in court.

Beyond their immediate impact to internet providers, the draft rules directly help US telecom regulators address a range of consumer issues in the longer run by allowing the FCC to bring its most powerful legal tools to bear, Rosenworcel said. Some of the priorities the FCC could address after the implementation of net neutrality rules include spam robotexts, internet outages, digital privacy and high-speed internet access, said Rosenworcel in a speech at the National Press Club Tuesday to announce the proposal.

Rosenworcel said reclassifying internet service providers as essential telecommunications entities - by regulating them under Title II of the FCC's congressional charter - would provide the FCC with clearer authority to adopt future rules governing everything from public safety to national security.