After deregulatory blitz, FCC scrambles to prevent ISP abuse during pandemic

Under pressure from the Federal Communications Commission, Internet service providers pledged to waive late fees and keep customers connected when they miss payments due to the coronavirus pandemic. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced that many ISPs signed his "Keep Americans Connected Pledge." But while the pledge prevents disconnections and late fees, Chairman Pai was unwilling or unable to convince ISPs to waive data caps during the pandemic. Pai's announcement said he "also called on broadband providers to relax their data cap policies in appropriate circumstances." But the pledge doesn't include any data-cap promises. AT&T March 12 said it is waiving home-Internet data caps during the pandemic, helping to illustrate a point we've made over the years: that monthly data caps and overage charges are for raising profits and do little, if anything, to manage congestion. But Comcast, the biggest home-Internet provider in the US, hasn't promised to waive data caps during the pandemic

Led by Chairman Pai, the Republican-majority Federal Communications Commission gave up its authority to restrict data caps and other anti-consumer practices in late 2017 when it repealed network neutrality rules and deregulated the broadband industry. That vote also eliminated requirements for ISPs to be more transparent with customers about hidden fees and the consequences of exceeding data caps, and it lifted a ban on "unjust or unreasonable discrimination" in broadband rates, practices, and services. Stripping away these regulations made it harder for the FCC to guarantee affordable broadband.