US regulator wants to abolish net neutrality rules in December

The US regulator FCC plans to vote in December on a proposal to abolish rules that promote net neutrality. The administration of former President Barack Obama introduced those rules in 2015, but according to the new FCC chief, the rules stand in the way of investment in networks.

Because the rules would make carriers less willing to invest in fixed and mobile networks, the rules would cost jobs, the FCC argues, according to Reuters. The news agency has the information from anonymous sources. The chief executive himself would like to present the details of his plan next week, after which the FCC will vote on it on December 14.

It is not yet clear what the new rules will look like. According to previous information, providers still have to promise not to discriminate between different types of internet traffic, but the oversight is now with the Federal Trade Commission and no longer with the FCC. If a provider breaks the rules, the FTC would not be able to force a provider to change behavior. The committee then has to go to court to enforce this.

Current net neutrality rules were introduced by the FCC under then-President Obama in 2015. Under those rules, American internet providers are not allowed to hinder content from third parties, for example by artificially lowering the speed. Offering ‘highways’ to paying parties or giving priority to own services was also restricted. In addition, providers were classified as utilities.