NET NEUTRALITY IN THE US

The net neutrality order was passed in the US by the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) in 2015. Title II of Communications Act (1934) formed the legal foundation on which
the FCC enacted the Open Internet Order of 2015. It has been an issue of contention between
network users and access providers since the 1990s. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 had
the aim to let anyone to enter the Telecommunications business and it was the first time that
Internet was included in the broadcast and spectrum allotment. The origin of idea for net
neutrality can be tracked to 1999 when there was a dubious situation regarding how the FCC
should classify broadband service. The aim of the order was to regulate broadband internet
providers as a utility.

The term “net neutrality” was coined in 2003 by a Columbian law professor Tim Wu in his
essay proposing how regulations could keep the Internet free and open for everybody. Then in
2004, Michael Powell gave a speech titled “Four Internet Freedoms” in which he declared that
users of internet should have freedom to access content, use applications, attach personal
devices and obtain service plan information. In 2005, a small phone company and DSL
provider in North Carolina named Madison River began blocking Vonage, then a popular
voice-over-IP program. It was then that the above mentioned user rights were given legal
force. Through these actions the FCC transformed the basic net neutrality rules into a legally
binding regime.

The George W. Bush administration continued to enforce Powell’s basic net neutrality rules
under chair Kevin Martin, as did the Obama administration under chair Julius Genachowski.
Among other things, the FCC tackled Comcast’s blocking of peer-to-peer video streaming,
AT&T’s effort to block Skype on the iPhone, and Verizon’s interference with Google Wallet.
In 2010, the FCC passes Open Internet Order which called for Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
to treat Internet traffic equally. The order calls for ISPs to be transparent about how they handle
network congestion, prohibit blocking of traffic on wired networks, and outlaw unreasonable
discrimination on those networks. In 2014, the DC Circuit Court determined in the case of
Verizon Communications Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission that the FCC had no
authority to enforce network neutrality rules as long as service providers were not classified as
a telecommunications entity.
On February 26, 2015, the FCC ruled in favour of net neutrality by reclassifying broadband as
a common carrier under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934 and Section 706 of the
Telecommunications Act of 1996. On April 13, 2015, the FCC published the final rule on its
new net neutrality regulations. The order establishes three “bright line rules” that prohibit
certain network practices of broadband internet access service providers. These rules banned
blocking, throttling and paid prioritization by broadband providers. Broadband providers may
not block access to legal content, applications, services, or non-harmful devices. Broadband
providers may not impair or degrade lawful Internet traffic on the basis of content, applications,
services, or non-harmful devices. Broadband providers may not favour some lawful Internet
traffic over other lawful traffic in exchange for consideration in other words, no “fast lanes.”
This rule also bans ISPs from prioritizing content and services of their affiliates.

The chart given below is based on a recent poll commissioned by the nonpartisan group Voice
of the People, which illustrates that Americans were surprisingly united in their support of net
neutrality rules. 86 percent of the registered voters polled oppose the FCC's plans to repeal net
neutrality rules, with similar numbers found across all political camps.
In December 2017, FCC voted to repeal net neutrality regulations under the chairmanship of
Ajit Pai in order to protect consumers and promote better, faster internet access and more
competition”, noting that the internet had flourished without net neutrality rules and arguing
the rules disadvantaged small internet service providers and rural customers.