The ‘Save The Internet’ act aims to restate the key principles of net neutrality.
Background: Net neutrality has continued to be controversial in the US. In 2017, the FCC passed the ‘Restoring Internet Freedom’ order, which took effect in June 2018 and repealed the safeguards introduced by the ‘Open Internet Order’ introduced by the previous FCC in 2015. Following the success of the Democratic Party in the recent mid-term elections, net neutrality has become actively debated once again.
What the bill says: The bill in practice reintroduces the Open Internet Order of 2015, with the key pillars of net neutrality – no blocking, no throttling and no paid prioritization. This would restore the FCC’s power to prohibit ‘unjust, unreasonable and discriminatory practices’ (currently, this is a matter for the Federal Trade Commission) which also means deciding on zero-rating on a case-by-case basis. Transparency provisions would also be reintroduced, for consumers to make informed decisions when shopping for internet plans.
Next steps: The bill will now have to be discussed by both Senate and Congress, where it has significant hurdles to overcome. The Democrats now control the Congress, but lost ground in the Senate; even if the bill were approved, it would need the signature of president Trump to come into force. A hearing entitled ‘Legislating to safeguard the free and open internet’ is scheduled for Tuesday, 12 March 2019 in the Communications & Technology Subcommittee in the Energy & Commerce Committee of the Congress.
