The U.S. Federal Communications Commission next month is planning a vote to kill Obama-era rules demanding fair treatment of web traffic and may decide to vacate the regulations altogether, according to people familiar with the plans.
The move would reignite a years-long debate that has seen Republicans and broadband providers seeking to eliminate the rules, while Democrats and technology companies support them. The regulations passed in 2015 bar broadband providers such as AT&T Inc. and Comcast Corp. from interfering with web traffic sent by Google, Facebook Inc. and others.
[...] Pai plans to seek a vote in December, said two people who asked not to be identified because the matter hasn't been made public. As the head of a Republican majority, he is likely to win a vote on whatever he proposes.
[...] The agency declined to comment on the timing of a vote. "We don't have anything to report at this point," said Tina Pelkey, a spokeswoman for the commission.
(Score: 2) by nobu_the_bard on Thursday November 16 2017, @08:33PM (1 child)
Interesting but mostly relevant to broadcast stations and newspapers - ie. the old mediums.
They're still players but their impact is shrinking, particularly newspapers.
The specific merger may give them access to 72% of the broadcast market, but that's hardly 72% of all viewers nowadays.
(Score: 1, Troll) by realDonaldTrump on Thursday November 16 2017, @09:07PM
And when we eliminate net neutrality, the other shoe drops. We can start to close that Internet up. And get the Fake News under control. Very much under control.