{"slug":"trump-net-neutrality-fcc-rollback","title":"Net Neutrality Repeal: FCC Rollback of Open Internet Protections","date":"2017-12-14","lastUpdated":"2018-06-11","description":"On December 14, 2017, the Trump-appointed FCC, led by Chairman Ajit Pai, voted 3-2 to repeal the 2015 Open Internet Order (net neutrality rules), removing the requirement that internet service providers treat all internet traffic equally. The repeal allowed ISPs to legally throttle, block, or charge more for certain content — giving corporate gatekeepers the ability to shape internet access in ways critics said would harm free expression, competition, and access to information.","summary":"Net neutrality rules prevented ISPs from discriminating between different types of internet traffic — from blocking competitors' services, throttling streaming video, or creating 'fast lanes' for content providers willing to pay. The Trump FCC repeal removed those protections, reclassifying broadband as an information service rather than a utility. States including California passed their own net neutrality rules; the legal status remained contested through Trump's first term.","category":"rule-of-law","severity":"major","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/14/technology/net-neutrality-repeal-vote.html","title":"FCC Repeals Net Neutrality Rules","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2017/12/14/the-fcc-just-voted-to-repeal-net-neutrality/","title":"The FCC just voted to repeal net neutrality","publisher":"The Washington Post"},{"url":"https://www.eff.org/issues/net-neutrality","title":"Net neutrality: What it means and why it matters","publisher":"Electronic Frontier Foundation"},{"url":"https://apnews.com/article/fccs-net-neutrality-repeal-takes-effect-6fc91d02b4bc4d7da10b44c5abce1e0a","title":"FCC net neutrality repeal takes effect","publisher":"The Associated Press"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["net-neutrality","FCC","internet","first-term","regulation","free-speech"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[{"date":"2017-12-14","title":"FCC votes 3-2 to repeal net neutrality","summary":"The Trump FCC votes along party lines to repeal the 2015 Open Internet Order, reclassifying broadband from a Title II utility to a Title I information service and removing the equal treatment requirements."},{"date":"2018-05-16","title":"Senate votes to restore net neutrality","summary":"The Senate votes 52-47 to restore net neutrality under the Congressional Review Act — the first bipartisan CRA vote in the Senate. The House fails to hold a comparable vote before the end of the Congress."},{"date":"2018-06-11","title":"Repeal takes effect","summary":"The net neutrality repeal officially takes effect. ISPs are no longer legally prohibited from throttling, blocking, or creating paid priority for certain internet traffic."},{"date":"2018-09-30","title":"California passes net neutrality law","summary":"California passes SB 822, the strongest state-level net neutrality law in the country. The Trump administration immediately sues to block it, arguing federal law preempts state regulation."}],"location":{"name":"Washington, D.C.","lat":38.9072,"lng":-77.0369},"custom":{"era":"first-term","posture":"executive-action","warCrimeClassification":"enabling","internationalLaw":[{"statute":"International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights","article":"Article 19","provision":"Right to freedom of expression includes the right to seek, receive, and impart information — allowing ISPs to discriminate between internet traffic can impede this right"}],"iccRelevance":false,"victims":"Internet users who face throttled or blocked content; small businesses and startups that depend on equal access to compete with established players; low-income households dependent on affordable internet access","structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Donald Trump","role":"President of the United States; appointed Ajit Pai to FCC chairmanship","institution":"White House"},{"name":"Ajit Pai","role":"FCC Chairman; led the net neutrality repeal","institution":"Federal Communications Commission"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2018-06-11","summary":"Updated with effective date of repeal."}]}}