Worries Mount Over FCC New Internet Rules

The old net neutrality rules — which required all Internet traffic be treated equally — were tossed by a federal appeals court in January.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s proposal, which will be made public after a vote by the FCC’s commissioners next month, makes way for Internet service providers to begin demanding fees from content providers, like Netflix, for improved access to consumers, according to The NY Post.

This has led to a flood of criticisms from Silicon Valley bigwigs, politicians and consumers, who say the FCC is “killing the Internet.”

Funny what happens when the @fcc is run by a former lobbyist for cable companies. http://t.co/B2hVhrRXuA
— Rakesh Agrawal (@rakeshlobster) April 23, 2014

• “Deeply troubling report on new #FCC net neutrality rules, there shouldn’t be a ‘fast lane,’ ” tweeted Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).

Wheeler said he’s merely complying with the appeals court decision that the FCC cannot dictate what Internet service providers, or ISPs, charge unless it reclassifies them as utility companies. Wheeler said in February that he would not appeal the court’s ruling, paving the way for a pay-to-play system.

The new rules will prevent ISPs from blocking or slowing content for anti-competitive reasons, according to the FCC official. Regulators will also seek to prevent anti-competitive behavior by cracking down on “commercially unreasonable” transactions between ISPs and content providers.

But both supporters and critics were left to speculate as to what is considered “commercially unreasonable.”