Net neutrality is gone, but won’t be forgotten

The Federal Communications Commission did exactly what it was expected to do Thursday: The three Republican appointees on the board pushed through a repeal of net neutrality rules, the Obama-era regulations that prohibited internet service providers from blocking or throttling data speeds unless websites pay extra, or giving preferential treatment to those websites that agree to pay the piper.

No longer will the web be treated like the public utility it is, with a level playing field for all. No longer will one price get you everything. Prepare to pay a premium, or see your data slow to a crawl. Prepare to see prices for streaming services like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime rise as those companies try to recover their higher costs.

More depressing is that, at this point, consumers only have one place to turn to undo the FCC’s damage – Congress. The same Republican-controlled Congress that’s determined to snatch money from the pockets of California’s middle-class under it’s new tax plan – which they’re insisting is a job creator, not a money grab. The thinking is that the public can’t see through the lies. We can.

Consumers must continue to fight, recognizing they aren’t alone. The Internet Association – a trade group that includes Facebook, Google, Airbnb, Uber and others – sent a letter urging the FCC to reject the misguidedly named “Restoring Internet Freedom Order” last week. This week, Twitter and Reddit followed up with a coordinated campaign of hashtags and pointed online messages aimed at riling the public.

That’s on top of a letter from more than 20 technology pioneers, including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and Mozilla Foundation chairwoman Mitchell Baker, who beseeched the FCC to form a better understanding of how the internet works before acting. Then 28 Democratic senators asked the FCC to delay the vote.

Those pleas were meaningless to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, an ex-Verizon attorney who has been drooling over this opportunity to enrich his former employer. He insisted neutrality rules hamper innovation and investment in next-generation broadband technologies – though new phone and web technologies roll out at an ever-faster pace.

Instead of net neutrality, Pai promised to work with the Federal Trade Commission to ensure ISPs disclose their business practices. This is the same FTC that is being sued by telecom companies like Verizon to forbid it from making rules over “common carriers.” Sounds like more doublespeak. Besides, the FTC could act only after damage has been done.

This week, Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., broke from his party and asked that people on “both sides of the aisle” work with him on a legislative solution. Democrats were game, but his party sat still.

Thursday morning, Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Angus King, an independent also from Maine, asked the FCC to cancel Thursday’s vote. Pai wasn’t listening.

Democratic Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney of New York introduced the “Save Net Neutrality Act,” which would’ve stopped the FCC from gutting it. Republicans ignored it. Sen. Kamala Harris’s request that the regulations be saved to protect vital communications tools was also ignored. Washington’s governor vowed to protect net neutrality for his state’s residents.

The internet is too important to turn over to profit-first corporations. Yet, the FCC’s Republicans did just that. As it’s been said, elections have consequences. So too do the actions of those who violate the public trust.

This story was originally published December 14, 2017 at 5:59 PM with the headline "Net neutrality is gone, but won’t be forgotten."