The United States regulator has reinstated the principle of Internet neutrality, preventing telecommunications operators from blocking or reducing the speed of access to certain content.
Net neutrality, a concept that protected the Internet as a public service, was approved in 2015, during the presidency of Barack Obama (2009-2017), but extinguished in 2017 by his successor Donald Trump (2017-2021).
The Federal Telecommunications Commission (FCC) approved the measure this Thursday, April 25, by three votes to two, with the Democratic commissioners in favor and the Republicans against.
In practice, Internet neutrality requires telecommunications service providers to treat all traffic equally, eliminating any incentive to favor business partners or obstacles to harm competitors.
For example, the rules prohibit practices that restrict or block certain pages or applications, or that only offer higher speeds of access to services or customers willing to pay more.
“In our post-pandemic world, we know that broadband is a necessity, not a luxury,” said FCC leader Jessica Rosenworcel, appointed in 2021 by US President Joe Biden, in a statement released before the vote. .
The legal director of the non-governmental organization Public Knowledge said the FCC’s decision will not change the experience of most Internet users, because many states had already approved measures to guarantee network neutrality.
“Some of the worst excesses [dos operadores de Internet] they were controlled by state oversight,” said John Bergmayer.
The telecommunications industry opposed the reintroduction of the federal rules, as it had done previously, declaring them an example of unnecessary government interference in business decisions.
With five commissioners, the FCC’s objective is to promote competition among Internet service providers, monitor mergers between telecommunications companies and regulate radio, television, satellite, cable and online transmissions, among others.
