Regulatory classification

The fiercest advocates for network neutrality are readying a new war in the nation’s capital, hoping to restore the rules that the Trump administration just eliminated — and galvanize a new generation of younger, web-savvy voters in the process. Not even a month after the Federal Communications Commission voted to scrap its requirement that internet providers treat all web traffic equally, an armada of tech startups, consumer activists and state attorneys general are preparing to take the agency to court.

Federal regulators may have opted to toss network neutrality rules in Dec, but opponents of the repeal are looking to extend the fight for a free and open internet well into the new year. One of the most outspoken supporters of net neutrality on Capitol Hill, Sen Ed Markey (D-MA) is spearheading an effort to overturn the Federal Communications Commission’s “misguided and partisan” decision using the Congressional Review Act. The day of the commission’s vote, he announced plans to introduce a joint resolution that would undo the repeal and reinstate open internet rules.

The city council in Fort Collins (CO) on Jan 2 voted to move ahead with a municipal fiber broadband network providing gigabit speeds, two months after the cable industry failed to stop the project. The city council vote came after residents of Fort Collins approved a ballot question that authorized the city to build a broadband network. The ballot question, passed in November, didn't guarantee that the network would be built because city council approval was still required, but that hurdle is now cleared.

[Commentary] Does the elimination of network neutrality threaten religious speech? Should Congress cement into law the right to equal access on the World Wide Web?

[Commentary] Even among folks that support network neutrality, there's pretty clearly a contingent that still believes the damage caused by the repeal of the rules will somehow be subtle. Because the net neutrality debate in recent years wandered into more nuanced and quirky areas like interconnection and zero rating, they believe the ultimate impact of the repeal will likely be modest. 

Fight for the Future is taking the gloves off in its effort to battle the Republican-controlled Federal Communications Commission's party line vote to roll back network neutrality rules and deed primary Internet regulatory authority to the Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department. It has launched the VoteForNetNeutrality.com website, which asks its Internet followers to vote out lawmakers--Republicans and Democrats--who do not join a Democrat-led effort to use the Congressional Review Act to nullify that rule rollback, saying holdouts are "betraying" the public. Fight For the Future

Here’s a rundown of promises kept, partially fulfilled and in need of action come 2018:

A promise fulfilled: President Donald Trump followed through on his stated information technology modernization goals by issuing an executive order on May 1 that created the American Technology Council.

Internet activists and some politicians are ramping up efforts to overturn the Federal Communications Commission’s network neutrality decision, or to reimpose net neutrality rules through legislation. Here are the main battle strategies they will employ in 2018:

Here’s how the concept of a free and open internet will continue to exist despite the repelation of these net neutrality regulations. If you’re a fan of internet freedom who would rather not pay several hundreds of dollars every year to be able to access the specific websites you like, the first and probably easiest way for you to fight back would be to use a virtual private network (VPN). But there’s a catch.

[Commentary] The repeal of network neutrality isn’t great news for consumers. Giant internet service providers that control their own media empires will be able to push you toward their content while serving up their rivals’ content at molasses-slow speeds. Consumers could be driven into walled content gardens where what you read and watch will be partly determined by which company provides your internet service. That’s probably bad for you. But it would be good for us.