As expected the votes fell on party lines with Republican members voting in favor of the repeal and Democrats voting against. Pai became the commissioner of the FCC, and with a 3-2 Republican majority the FCC changed its position and repealed the net neutrality laws. With a new Republican administration the configuration of the FCC changed. Similarly, there were other concerns about ISPs, many of which are part of media conglomerates, favoring the content of their parent companies while blocking or slowing content of competitors (Clyburn, DecemRosenworcel, December 14, 2017). This fear of a paid expressway or “fast lanes” for some internet content led to other concerns over content distribution for those who could not afford to have their content disseminated so quickly (Wigfield, 2015, 2). Net neutrality policy advocates argued that without net neutrality there was the potential for there to be a two-tiered internet with some content being delivered faster and some being delivered slower or not at all. Republican Commissioner Ajit Pai, who was nominated to the FCC by President Obama and later made Chairman by President Trump, noted that these new regulations actually stifled the development of the internet, and placed an undue burden on small ISPs who were buried under compliance paperwork. However, this policy was criticized by Republicans. That policy was passed along party lines, 3-2, with the Democratic commissioners voting for and Republicans against. In response to that case the FCC issued a new standard of net neutrality. However, that policy was struck down by the D.C. It had first attempted to do this in 2010 with the FCC’s Open Internet Rules. However, as the internet became more essential in commerce and daily communication, the FCC in 2015 adopted the policy of net neutrality in an attempt to preserve the internet as it had always been-an open forum with equal access to content. Prior to 2015, the federal government’s approach to internet regulation could be characterized as loose. This approach to internet regulation categorized broadband service under Title II of the Communications Act, which subjected ISPs to certain federal regulations including investigations and compliance requirements (Wigfield, 2015). Officially adopted by the FCC in 2015, net neutrality specifically disallowed ISPs from blocking content, slowing down delivery of certain content, and allowing people or organizations to pay for faster delivery of their content. Net neutrality is the practice where all content on the internet is delivered at the same speed, and it forbids internet service providers (ISPs) from charging for faster delivery of content. What is Net Neutrality and Why Was It Repealed? As a result, anyone placing, writing, or managing content online, especially public relations professionals, needs to know what the FCC’s repeal of net neutrality means for them. However, what is known is that the repeal has the potential to change the way the internet works and the trajectory of its development. While opinions on the subject vary across the political spectrum, it is difficult to accurately predict how the repeal of net neutrality will actually affect the internet, consumers, and communication professionals. Now that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has repealed its net neutrality regulations, many pundits are speculating this new regulatory environment will either shut down or spur the growth of the internet. Net neutrality is one of those subjects people have likely heard about, but don’t really know how it affects them.
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