Back in 2017, there was major unrest in the tech world. The Trump Administration rolled back Net Neutrality, and many people feared that ISPs (internet service providers) would take advantage and degrade their internet experiences for money. Well, after seven years, The FCC has finally restored Net Neutrality.
Net Neutrality came about back in 2015 during the Obama Administration. It was instated on the grounds that internet access should be equal for everyone. ISPs should not be able to throttle internet speeds based on different scenarios.
One thing that people feared was losing access to basic services because ISPs could selectively throttle them. For example, imagine buying an internet plan where you could access the internet, but in order to be able to watch videos, you would have to pay extra. Thankfully, we have not seen anything like that happen over these past seven years.
The FCC has restored Net Neutrality
This is something that has been in the works since 2021 when US President Joe Biden signed an executive order to bring it back. So, it was a three-year-long battle to get to this point. What made things worse was the fact that the FCC consisted of only two Democratic votes compared to three Republican votes. This is what kept the order from coming to fruition.
However, relatively recently, Anna Gomez was sworn in as the third democratic commissioner. After that, the bill was able to make progress. Now Net Neutrality has officially returned.
Obviously, there are some people who are not happy about this. Republican FCC commissioner, Brendan Carr, referred to this as an “unlawful power grab.” Net Neutrality gives the government more control over ISPs. It basically makes internet access an essential service just like water or power.
Whether this is a “power grab” or not will probably be hashed out in some way shape or form. However, this still marks a big win for people who want Net Neutrality back. ISPs have not raised their masks to reveal their true evil nature, so we’re not quite sure if there will be any palpable changes as far as Internet access is concerned.
One thing to note is that while Net Neutrality has returned, the FCC will not regulate the prices that ISPs can charge. This is one thing that they worried about.