The Federal Communications Commission’s rules on net neutrality are finally official. The rules state that Internet Service Providers can’t prefer one content provider over another by speeding up your access to stuff online. It also says wireless carriers can’t block legal websites or applications (however, the rules for wireless companies are a little less strict than for ISPs – the rule does not state that wireless companies can’t slow down certain content).
If there’s a line to challenge these rules, Verizon will likely be first. They already tried to challenge the rule, but were tossed out of court because Big Red just filed too early. Turns out you can’t challenge a rule that hasn’t been published yet. There’s lots of opposition from Republicans, too. So, if Congress gets any time to think about anything other than the economy, we could see some legislation about this as well.
Here’s “Preserving the Open Internet” in pdf.
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