The Trump administration's Federal Communications Commission is expected to announce its plans to begin dismantling of the Obama-era net neutrality rules this week, with an official rollback anticipated following a mid-December meeting, The Wall Street Journal reports.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai vowed last winter that he would take "a weed whacker" to the regulations. Pai argues that the rules — which prevent internet service providers like Comcast and AT&T from tinkering with the speed of certain websites and applications — are preventing innovation in the industry. Supporters of the standards, such as the nonpartisan Free Press, argue that "without net neutrality, cable and phone companies could carve the internet into fast and slow lanes … This would destroy the open internet."

If the dismantling is successful, internet providers will have "more flexibility to use bundles of services and creative pricing to make their favored content more attractive to consumers," The Wall Street Journal explains. Or, as Slate puts it: "Without network neutrality rules, internet providers stand to make a lot of money, since the companies will be able to operate what is essentially a two-way toll — collecting money from both subscribers and websites that want to reach those users at faster speeds."

The new rules are expected to be announced Wednesday, British tech website The Inquirer writes, adding that "the important point, as we've said before, is that once the genie is out of the bottle, getting it back in is almost impossible." Jeva Lange