These are the components of a new policy initiative that was voted on Thursday by the Federal Communications Commission1.
The driving force behind this initiative is net neutrality2, the concept that Internet providers cannot slow down access to websites.
The FCC passed the ?measure with a 3-2 vote, ?redefining the Internet as ?a telecommunications service3?and giving the FCC the ?ability to regulate Internet ?service providers.
The policy includes three distinct measures that would directly affect consumers.
ISPs would not be allowed to block access to legal content or Internet applications, ISPs may not impair or degrade lawful Internet traffic on the basis of content and ISPs may not favor some lawful Internet traffic over other traffic in exchange for compensation.
Journalism associate professor Anthony Fargo, who specializes in media law and policy, supported the decision the FCC made in the context of today’s telecommunication laws.
“I think the approach they’ve taken now is probably the only one open to them that made any sense,” Fargo said. “It will, I think, go a long way toward preventing Internet providers from taking us into the cable TV age where we had a lot of complicated (content) rating systems.”
He said there have not yet been any indicators that the FCC intends to regulate content.
One of the most well-known examples of recent net neutrality violations is the incident between Netflix and Comcast4 that was reported in early 2014.
Netflix now accounts for about 30 percent of all Internet traffic at certain times of the day. Comcast was accused of threatening to slow down that Internet traffic, specifically to Netflix’s website, for all consumers for whom Comcast provides Internet access unless Netflix provided Comcast with compensation.
This is one of the examples that is commonly brought up when politicians and activists speak of the need for net ?neutrality.
“My concern about it is that there may be some truth in the criticisms that the FCC is going to be doing more regulation of the Internet,” Fargo said. “It may lead the FCC to do what it has done, to some extent, in the broadcast industry, which is also regulate content.”
Sen. Dan Coats, R-Ind., disagreed with the FCC’s initiative and is concerned about the possible effects the policy might have on consumer’s broadband access.
“I am firmly opposed to the FCC’s plan to regulate the Internet,” Coats said in a press release. “These rules will lead to more expensive Internet access and slower service expansion for consumers.”
The concept of net neutrality doesn’t apply just to businesses, it also suggests government institutions should not be able to charge or tax differently or discriminate against content or information.
State Sens. Carlin Yoder, R-Middlebury, Brandt Hershman, R-Buck Creek, and John Broden, D-South Bend, are addressing the net neutrality issue as well as Senate Bill 80, which addresses the taxation of ?Internet access.
The bill provides that “neither the state nor a political subdivision may impose, assess, collect, or attempt to collect a tax on Internet access or the use of Internet access.”
The bill passed unanimously in the Indiana Senate on Monday and has been referred to the House of Representatives. If passed, Indiana will be the first state to enact a law protecting taxpayers from Internet access taxes.
While there is currently a federal law, the Internet Tax Freedom Act, that prohibits Internet taxes, the law is set to expire Oct. 1, 2015.
Many presume the law will be renewed, but there is no legal guarantee that Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who has supported Internet taxation in the past, won’t try to block an extension.
