Civil Rights
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Following a federal court ruling earlier this year, the FCC is once again proposing newly revised rules on net neutrality. How might the proposed rules affect you?
Back in January, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the FCC does not have the authority to prevent Internet service providers (ISPs) from selectively slowing down or blocking Web traffic. The Internet had been "neutral" before this ruling, meaning ISPs could not slow traffic down based on content. Now they can.
What could the loss of net neutrality mean to you? Potentially, a lot. Here are three major concerns:
What's the FCC Doing About It?
The FCC is trying to address these concerns, but its hands are tied because of the way the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was written. If the FCC had more power, it could bring back net neutrality. These are the FCC's proposed rules right now:
So What Can You Do?
If you don't think the FCC's proposed rules are good enough, you can write to your Congressmember and try to get the laws changed to give the FCC the authority to enforce net neutrality. Better yet, set up a meeting and go talk with a Congressional staff member.
The FCC is set to vote May 15 on whether to move forward with its net neutrality proposal, so that would be another place to make your views known. Because of heightened interest, the FCC has taken the unusual step of setting up an email address where you can submit your comments now: openinternet@fcc.gov.
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