The FCC passed its Net Neutrality regulations today and have already been met with protest and threats of legally challenging them have started, Mashable reported.
“While the Open Internet Order does prevent fixed broadband providers from blocking access to sites and applications, the rules are different for wireless providers and not as clear as advocates would like,” Mashable stated.
That wireless was not held to the same standards was one of the major objections opponents discussed.
“On every single important and controversial question on what an ‘open Internet’ actually means, — such as whether companies can create ‘fast lanes’ for ‘prioritized’ content or what exactly wireless providers can and cannot do — the actual language of the rules is silent, ambiguous, or even at odds with the text of the implementing Order,” Mashable quoted Harold Feld of Public Knowledge.
Republican lawmakers have threatened to repeal the laws, Politico stated. “Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), soon-to-be chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, later elaborated to reporters Tuesday afternoon that he plans to bring all five commissioners before the panel to discuss net neutrality at “the first hearing out of the box” next year. He even signaled the possibility that Republicans may pursue repeal through the Congressional Review Act — an avenue that allows members to reject agency rules without threat of filibuster, provided they can secure a majority support against net neutrality.”