Net Neutrality Is Still Needed Despite Its Quiet Hiatus

The debate around “net neutrality” is back, only this time there is even less chance that the matter will be settled for good. Consumers’ online rights still need protection, and restoring them for an open internet is worthwhile. Those pointing to internet service providers’ (ISP) “good behavior” are being disingenuous at best. The 2018 decision to reverse the Federal Communications Commission's earlier net neutrality rule was being challenged in court until 2020, by which point several states had set up or had in motion their own net neutrality regulations in the absence of a federal one. The patchwork of rules has placed ISPs in regulatory limbo for six years: “Good behavior” was the only practical option available—and calling it that is maybe a stretch. During the pandemic, the FCC had to rely on voluntary pledges from ISPs to keep people connected in the crisis, but many were still disconnected, noted New America’s Open Technology Institute's Senior Policy Counsel Raza Panjwani. Onerous data caps were temporarily dropped to support the surge of at-home working but were soon reinstated long before people started going back to the office en masse. Now, the government lacks the ability to thoroughly and consistently measure how ISPs are performing, so we don’t have a full picture of how Americans are being served, according to Public Knowledge Senior VP Harold Feld. A return to so-called Title II classification, in which broadband access is regulated like utilities such as water and gas, would help address much of the above, which is why President Joe Biden has made it a priority.