FCC to vote on restoration of Net Neutrality regulations

Perhaps one of the biggest blows to the progress of reliable and stable internet and consumer protections to go along with it was the rollback of Net Neutrality regulations under former FCC Chairperson and shoddy Santa impersonator Ajit Pai. Now, later this April, the current FCC will have its opportunity to undo the damage he did. A vote will be held to restore Net Neutrality regulations and consumer protections.

The FCC shared its intent to vote on Net Neutrality restoration in a press release from the organization put out this week. The organization’s Commissioners are set to meet on April 25, 2024 in an open meeting to discuss and vote on the topic.

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has been leading up the latest charge on better, more stable internet service, security, and consumer protections in 2024.
Source: Andrew Harrer/Getty Images

If adopted, the proposal could target several key points in internet development, security, and consumer protection:

Returning popular Net Neutrality protections such as restricting federal level ISPs from blocking, slowing down, or using paywalls for fast access to internet content.
Provide better oversight for broadband outages
Boost internet security of broadband networks
Increase consumer protections, including creating better infrastructure to protect consumer data and respond to consumer threats
Restore a widely accepted national standard of internet access and speed

The FCC has already been active in 2024, recently increasing the minimum requirement of “broadband speed” for the first time in almost a decade. With these moves, Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel’s FCC appears to be mobilizing heavily to boost internet standards and regulations to a level long abandoned under the watch of the previous leadership. Hopefully, with the vote coming at the end of April, the FCC will make the move to ensure internet reliability and fairness for hundreds of millions of users who rely on it. Stay tuned for further updates.