Internet to lose ‘basic utility’ classification after FCC vote
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the US has voted to repeal net-neutrality protections, which classified internet access as a basic utility. The move will mean internet service providers (ISPs), particularly big telecoms firms, will be able to charge varied amounts for internet service levels and block websites. Advocates of the repeal suggest ISPs were hampered by the regulation, which was passed in 2015, and argued its repeal would boost innovation and broadband investment. Critics believe it will be a significant hit to consumers and small enterprises.

The FCC has repealed its own 2015 net-neutrality rules in a 3-2 vote.

The repeal is likely to be met with lawsuits and a push to bring back the regulations through legislation in Congress.

The FCC's meeting was interrupted by a security threat, forcing everyone to evacuate the room while police searched the area with sniffing dogs.



Federal regulators voted Thursday to eliminate a two-year-old rule that classified internet access as a basic utility, a controversial move that will give broadband providers more leeway to sell different tiers of internet service but which critics say will leave consumers and web startups at the mercy of the big telecommunications companies.

In a partisan vote repealing net-neutrality protections, the FCC has lifted restrictions that prevented internet service providers (ISPs) from blocking certain websites or from charging companies and customers more for internet "fast lanes."

Those so-called fast lanes could mean the difference between a smooth, TV-like experience watching online videos or a frustrating frozen screen — a vital distinction as services like entertainment, news, and education shift to online platforms.

As expected, the vote passed the commission in a 3-2 party-line vote, with Republicans voting for the repeal and Democrats voting against it.

Now that the repeal is official, it’s likely headed to court.

Several groups have already said they plan to file lawsuits against the decision on the grounds that the FCC didn’t seriously consider the millions of pro-net-neutrality comments submitted to the commission. There will also be a push to get Congress to bring back net-neutrality regulations through legislation.

The 2015 net-neutrality rule, passed under the administration of President Obama, classified broadband internet service under Title II of the Communications Act, essentially defining it as a basic utility such as telephone service.

A 'great day' on the 'wrong side of history'

Critics of Thrusday's vote to repeal net neutrality say it will result in higher prices and fewer choices for consumers, and that it will be a boon to ISPs that will enter into a new environment where they'll be free to commoditize the internet and figure out new ways make money off their customers' internet access.

The vote brought out passionate comments from Republicans and Democrats on the commission. Democratic commissioner Mignon Clyburn gave the most impassioned plea for protecting net neutrality.

“I dissent from this fiercely spun, legally lightweight, consumer-harming, corporate-enabling Destroying Internet Freedom Order,” Clyburn said in her opening remarks.

The Republican members of the commission brought back their previous arguments from when the first proposed net neutrality repeal. They said it would bring back the lighter regulations the internet flourished under for most of its existence and would allow ISPs to invest more in broadband technologies.

The meeting was briefly interrupted in the middle of Chairman Ajit Pai’s remarks due to what the Department of Homeland Security's Federal Protective Service later said was a bomb threat. Guards and police dogs could be seen on The Washington Post’s live feed searching the room after it had been evacuated.

Here are some notes we took during the discussion of the net-neutrality repeal: