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Tomorrow the FCC will vote on the Safeguarding and Securing the Open Internet (SSOI) order which would reclassify broadband networks as telecommunications. Even if that technical jumble doesn't sound familiar, one of its provisions includes "net neutrality," the principle of treating all internet traffic the same. For a brief period between 2015 and 2017 the FCC had enacted net neutrality, but Ajit Pai, the FCC comissioner in 2017, lead the charge to revoke the original Open Internet Order and restore us to a pre-2015 internet.
As I've written in the past, none of the dire predicitions supporters of net neutrality made came true. Even today, misleading and factually incorrect claims are being made about the consequences of no net neutrality. If that was where the discussion ended, it might not be worth fighting. Unfortunately, there are active problems and harms that come with passing the SSOI and restoring net neutrality. Three examples to look at:
- Decreasing investment, expansion, and access of networks during net neutrality years
- Regulatory fog that hurts innovation and could disallow technology like network slicing
- Contrasting infrastructure durability during Covid-19 between the U.S. and Europe
I address all three of the points in detail in my recent op-ed at National Review. The data just isn't on the side of net neutrality proponents, as we see freer networks dropping prices, innovating, and holding up in the toughtest times. While it appears that the FCC has the votes to pass the SSOI, there may be a chance the Supreme Court's current jurisprudence may find the move unconstitutional. We'll have to wait and see. In the meantime, I highly encourage you to read my full breakdown of the harms net neutrality rules inflict.
