Here's how the new Republican Congress plans to undercut net neutrality

Even as the Republican draft bill appears to enforce fundamental tenets of network neutrality, it explicitly undermines the legal authority of the Federal Communications Commission. And advocates say that if passed, the bill could create new obstacles to an open internet.

A skeptical interpreter reads the proposal and sees the handwriting of telecommunications industry lobbyists: it may not be drafted by the colossal Internet companies it’s meant to regulate, but all the power squeezed from regulatory ambiguities is channeled in their direction. Matt Wood of Free Press said, "In addition to listing out the things that are prohibited, it says the FCC has no rule-making authority; it has no ability to expand these obligations," he said. "It’s basically trying to say: ‘Here are some protections, FCC, but you are now handcuffed and unable to adapt or adjust to the facts or circumstances of future practices.’" Even if the bill represents an earnest compromise, it still doesn't come close to what Internet activists and Democrats are asking for. By avoiding a reclassification of broadband and working to render the FCC impotent, the new Republican Congress suggests it doesn’t really want net neutrality. It just wants to look like it does.