FCC plans to restore net neutrality repealed by Trump administration

WASHINGTON — The Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday said it plans to vote later this month to restore the principle of net neutrality adopted during the Obama administration but repealed under Donald Trump.

“After the prior administration abdicated authority over broadband services, the FCC has been handcuffed from acting to fully secure broadband networks, protect consumer data, and ensure the internet remains fast, open, and fair,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement. “A return to the FCC’s overwhelmingly popular and court-approved standard of net neutrality will allow the agency to serve once again as a strong consumer advocate of an open internet.”

The agency plans to vote on the measure at its April 25 open meeting.

If restored, the regulations would allow the FCC to “once again play a key role in preventing at the federal level broadband providers from blocking, slowing down, or creating pay-to-play internet fast lanes,” the agency said in the statement.

The principle requires internet service providers to treat all users as equal, rather than treating a certain class of users who pay more differently from others paying less or using other criteria to discriminate between users.

The Obama administration in 2015 put in place regulations to ensure this neutrality, but those were repealed. The House in 2019 passed legislation that would have restored the net neutrality principle, but that measure wasn’t taken up by the Senate.

The FCC’s latest move comes after the agency signaled in October that it would begin the process of restoring net neutrality when it voted 3-2 to issue a proposed rule-making.