FCC Adopts Net Neutrality Rules on Party-Line Vote

Internet activists are declaring victory today over the nation's big cable companies.

 

This, after the Federal Communications Commission voted to impose tough new rules on broadband providers like Comcast and Verizon, to keep them from creating Internet "fast lanes" for content providers that pay more.

 

The 3-to-2 party-line vote marks a new era of government oversight for an industry that, until now, hasn't seen much of that.

 

The new rule requires that any company providing a broadband connection to your home or phone has to act in the ``public interest'' and refrain from using "unjust or unreasonable" business practices.

 

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler says it's a "red-letter day for Internet Freedom." And President Barack Obama says it's a victory for democracy in the digital age.

 

Verizon, though, sees it differently. It's pointing out that the FCC relied on legislation from 1934 to regulate the Internet.



U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also condemned the vote on the Senate floor today, before it even happened. Congressional Republicans and industry officials said it amounts to dangerous overreach that it would eventually raise costs for consumers.



McConnell said, “The growth of the Internet and the rapid adoption of mobile technology have been great American success stories. And they were made possible by a bipartisan ‘light touch’ consensus that allowed innovators to develop and sell the products people want — and to create the kind of high-quality jobs Americans need — without waiting around for government permission.

 

The Senate Majority Leader said the Obama Administration needs to get beyond its 1930s rotary-telephone mindset and embrace the future.



“That means encouraging innovation, not suffocating it under the weight of an outdated bureaucracy and poorly named regulations like this one.” McConnell said.



The broadband industry is expected to sue over Thursday's decision.