opinion

Kaffer: Net neutrality and the FCC's looming mistake

The internet you know and love is not long for this world.

In November, the Federal Communications Commission unveiled a plan to overturn Obama-era internet regulations that require internet service providers to transmit all content at the same rates. Whether you click on a big bank, a small business, or stream a Netflix movie over your Comcast connection, it's all treated the same, something called "net neutrality."

FCC chairman Ajit Pai, a Republican, is determined to revoke those rules.

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The commission's two Democratic members have publicly objected to the plan, but its three Republican members, led by Pai, are widely expected to approve it at the commission's next open meeting, set for Dec. 14.

Pai says that repealing net neutrality will offer consumers tiered plans, with greater ability to choose an internet access plan that meets the consumer's needs.

That's disingenuous rubbish.

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If the FCC guts those Obama-era rules, everything will change. Internet providers will be able to offer "fast" and "slow" lanes to the internet, with the potential to slow access to websites that won't pay — or with which your internet provider competes. If these rules are repealed, an internet provider that wants to drive traffic to its streaming movie offerings could slow access to sites like Netflix or Amazon — or charge those companies more for the same internet connection speed, costs that would inevitably be passed on to the customer.

For small business, particularly tech start-ups and entrepreneurs, or nonprofits, it's a real problem — a small boutique's e-commerce site, for example, can't compete with a big chain store.

In some cases, businesses could challenge such actions under antitrust laws, and under Pai's plan, internet service providers would be required to be transparent about what, if any, data they'd slowed.

The FCC has historically regulated the internet like a public utility — subject to the same kind of regulations as phone or electric companies. It's an acknowledgement that the internet is essential to modern life, and that equitable internet access supports business innovation and economic growth.

That's the right way to do it, and by changing course, the FCC is making a terrible mistake.