A storm is brewing over net neutrality.
The Federal Communications Commission is set to vote on net neutrality regulations this month—but what, exactly, those regulations entail has been kept under wraps, per FCC practice.
They have hinted that they will pursue Title II regulation: the more controversial choice, which entails treating the internet as a utility for the first time in history. The New York Times is now reporting that this will be a “a light-touch approach to Title II.” What, exactly, “a light-touch approach” is is a little less clear.
According to the Times, the FCC will ban “fast lanes” and prohibit companies from blocking content, but will shy away from “more intrusive” regulations, like “meddling in pricing decisions.”
Wireless data may also wind up stuck into Title II—sorry, smartphones.
“There are many parts of Title II that are inappropriate and would thwart investment, but a model has been set in the wireless business that has billions of dollars of investment,” FCC Chairman Wheeler said last month. “We’re going to propose rules that say that no blocking (is allowed), no throttling, no paid prioritization.”
Obama pressed the FCC to adopt Title II regulation last year. Not all net neutrality proponents want regulation to occur under Title II, and some civil rights advocates are particularly distressed by the idea. They fear that Title II regulation will kill broadband investment, and ban some types of plans used by low-income families.
Republicans have been plotting their counter-attack for months, coming out strongly against regulation and portraying it as forcing modern technology into a 1930s-era model. Ted Cruz has likened net neutrality to “Obamacare for the internet.”
