Last week, the Federal Communications Commission, known as the FCC, voted to dismantle landmark “net neutrality” rules established in 2015 after widespread organizing and protests by free internet advocates. These rules required internet service providers to treat web content equally and not block or prioritize some content over others in return for payment. The repeal of these rules was widely opposed by the American public, with more than 20 million people submitting comments to the FCC. Thursday’s vote also means the government will no longer regulate high-speed internet as if it were a public utility, like phone service. We speak with Maya Wiley, senior vice president for social justice and professor of public and urban policy at The New School.
TRANSCRIPT
AMY GOODMAN: We end today’s show looking at the next steps in the fight to keep the internet free and open. The Federal Communications Commission, known as the FCC, voted last week to dismantle landmark net neutrality rules established in 2015 after widespread organizing and protests by free internet advocates. These rules required internet service providers to treat web content equally, not block or prioritize some content over others in return for payment. The repeal of these rules was widely opposed by the American public, with more than 20 million people submitting comments to the FCC. But Trump’s chairman of the FCC, Ajit Pai, had lobbied heavily to repeal the rules. On Thursday, Ajit Pai, a former Verizon attorney, was joined by two fellow Republican commissioners, and the FCC voted 3 to 2 for a repeal. The FCC’s vote to repeal net neutrality is the latest and most controversial of a series of changes led by Chairman Ajit Pai. Over the last year, he has also loosened rules aimed at limiting media consolidation, and scaled back a program aimed at expanding broadband access among low-income Americans.
For more, we’re joined by Maya Wiley. She’s senior vice president for social justice and professor of public…