Net neutrality - live updates: Politicians prepare to fight against FCC's decision to scrap rules protecting internet freedoms
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Your support makes all the difference.The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), under the direction of President Trump, has voted to repeal Obama-era rules governing net neutrality.
The five-person board has voted in favour of ending net neutrality, a decision that could have a huge effect on the way the internet works.
Supporters of net neutrality say the move could open the door for internet service providers (ISPs) to charge customers more and dictate what people use the internet for.
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Immediately after the vote, Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson said he intended to file a legal challenge against the vote. It is unlikely to be the last.
ISPs greeted the news warmly, but Senator Ed Markey a Democrat from Massachusetts said he would be looking to introduce an act in Congress calling for a review of the FCC decision. he labelled it a "historic mistake".
Commissioner Pai: “Let's be clear. Following today's vote Americans will still be able to access the websites they want to visit.”
Commissioner Pai: “Some Silicon Valley platform giants favor imposing heavy-handed regulations on other parts of the internet ecosystem. but all too often they don't practice what they preach. Edge providers regularly block content they don't like.
“When you go online, do you decide what news search results and products you see? Perhaps not. They regularly decide what you see and perhaps more importantly, what you don't. And many thrive on the business model of charging to place content in front of eyeballs.
“What else is accelerated mobile pages or promoted tweets but prioritization? What is worse, there is no transparency into how decisions that appear inconsistent with an open internet are made.
“How does a company decide to restrict someone's account or block their tweets because it thinks their views are inflammatory or wrong. How does the company decide to de-monetize videos from political advocates without any notice or ask how does a company expressly block access to websites on rival devices or prevent dissident content from appearing on its platform?
“How does a company decide to block from its app store a cigar aficionado at because the company believes the app promotes tobacco use. You don't have any insight into any of these decisions and neither do I. Yet these are very real actual threats to an open internet.
“Ironic coming from the very entities that claim to support, ironic that so-called net neutrality advocates most vigorously opposed to our reforms have nothing to say about these threats.”
This is a huge victory for internet service providers, which have just gained a huge amount of power over both consumers and online services.
↵And here is some more of the - strong- reaction to the decision.
And here come the first announcements of an intention to sue over the vote. First New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman:
Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson also seems to eb part of that multi-state effort.
Mark Stanley, a spokesman for the civil liberties organization Demand Progress, said there is a "good chance" Congress could reverse it.
"The fact that Chairman Pai went through with this, a policy that is so unpopular, is somewhat shocking," he said. "Unfortunately, not surprising."
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