A huge win on net neutrality could embolden the FCC to tighten regulations in other areas

Net neutrality advocates are hoping that a big win in court will prompt the Federal Communications Commission to take bold action in other areas, including privacy. "By affirming the FCC’s rules and their use of Title II, the court set the stage for strong privacy protections,” said Fight for the Future’s Holmes Wilson. In March, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler surprised many with plans to require Internet service providers to get consent from customers before using many types of data. The agency is now sifting through an initial wave of comments, with a deadline looming later in June for responses to those comments.

Another area where the FCC may take action is around so-called zero rating, where carriers choose to exempt one service or a class of service from counting against a user’s data cap. AT&T and Verizon both have sponsored data programs where the provider of content or a third party pays for data traffic, while T-Mobile has a pair of programs that allow certain music or video streams to be delivered without counting against a user’s data cap. “Comcast, AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile are all violating the spirit of the net neutrality rules with zero-rating plans that privilege some sites over others,” Wilson said. "Now that the FCC clearly has the power to shut down these shady arrangements, the question is: Will they?" Commission staff have already met with several companies, and apparently an informal review is continuing.