Abolished for six years in the United States, net neutrality finally marks its return: the American Telecommunications Authority decided on Thursday to reinstate the principle that guarantees equal access to the Internet.
Every consumer deserves fast, open and equitable internet access.
These net neutrality rules ensure that you can go where you want and do what you want online, without your provider making the choices for you.
The chairman of the Federal Communications Agency (FCC) was added before the vote.
Since 2018, American telecommunications companies have the right to ask their customers to pay for access to certain websites. They can voluntarily modulate the connection speed depending on the content.
This has opened the door to Internet service providers who adapt their sites, harming competitors or companies that pay them to give their customers faster access to their service.
It may also have affected Internet users in Canada due to the fact that most of the web traffic passes through the United States. However, Canada, like most countries in the world, adheres to this principle of net neutrality. Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) was deemed sufficient to reinforce its commitment to this principle when eradicated in a neighboring country.
But now the United States is going backwards: the FCC Voted two (Republicans) to three (Democrats) to renew regulations passed under Barack Obama in 2015 on this principle of internet network neutrality.
[Les nouvelles règles] Clearly state that your internet service provider does not have the right to block websites, slow down services or censor online content
Jessica Rosenworcel said.
A decision that caused a reaction
In 2017, during the administration of Donald Trump, the FCC He spoke for the end of the principle of net neutrality, which ensured that telecommunications investments in ultra-fast Internet networks would be harmed.
At the time, the agency's president believed the rules on net neutrality constituted an attempt to turn Internet access providers into public utilities that, according to him, were unwilling to invest.
Many states opposed this repeal. California responded by adopting its own net neutrality guarantee law, which had to be argued in court.
Tim Berners-Lee, creator of the Internet. (archive photo)
Photo: AFP/Getty Images / Mandel Ngan
Web founder Tim Berners-Lee, as well as Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, criticized the changes in an open letter signed by 21 people and sent to the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation and the Internet.
Note that most major digital platforms are also against this internet Two speeds
and protect the principle of equal access.
A welcome decision
On Thursday, Evan Greer, head of the Digital Rights Organization Fight for the futureHe said to himself FCC is finally resuming its duties to protect consumers from the worst practices of big telecommunications companies”,”text”:”FCC is happy to finally resume its duties to protect consumers from the worst practices of big telecommunications companies “}}”>They were happy FCC It finally resumes its responsibilities to protect consumers from the worst evils of the big telecommunication companies
.
Telecom giants like AT&T and Comcast have spent millions on lobbying and questionable maneuvers to prevent net neutrality from returning. But they keep losing.
Before the vote FCCl'NGO Electronic Frontier Foundation But it warned that there would be no way to restore the 2015 rules Excellent solution
.
Internet service providers should be open about how traffic is handled on their networks so that everyone knows if there is a problem. Local authorities can also play a key role in supporting competitive networks
Explained about the company.
With information from Agence France-Presse
About The Author
More Stories
Russia imposes fines on Google that exceed company value
Historic decline in travel in Greater Montreal
Punches on the “Make America Great Again” cap: Two passengers kicked off the plane