FCC to vote on rein­stat­ing Oba­ma-era net neu­tral­i­ty rules

The Fed­er­al Com­mu­ni­ca­tions Com­mis­sion will vote to restore net neu­tral­i­ty rules, a move that would reverse a con­tro­ver­sial FCC rul­ing from 2017.
Com­mis­sion Chair­woman Jes­si­ca Rosen­wor­cel announced the vote on Wednes­day. It has a very good chance of pass­ing, giv­en that of the five com­mis­sion­ers of the FCC board, three are Democ­rats. The ini­tial move to end net neu­tral­i­ty dur­ing the Trump era was met with fierce back­lash online.
“The pan­dem­ic proved once and for all that broad­band is essen­tial,” Rosen­wor­cel said. “After the pri­or admin­is­tra­tion abdi­cat­ed author­i­ty over broad­band ser­vices, the FCC has been hand­cuffed from act­ing to ful­ly secure broad­band net­works, pro­tect con­sumer data, and ensure the inter­net remains fast, open, and fair.
“A return to the FCC’s over­whelm­ing­ly pop­u­lar and court-approved stan­dard of net neu­tral­i­ty will allow the agency to serve once again as a strong con­sume …