The Federal Communications Commission took aim at a signature Obama-era regulation Tuesday, unveiling a plan that would give Internet providers broad powers to determine what websites and online services their customers see and use.
Under the agency’s proposal, providers of high-speed Internet services, such as Comcast, Verizon and AT&T, would be able to block websites they do not like and charge Web companies for speedier delivery of their content.
The FCC’s effort would roll back its net neutrality regulation which was passed by the agency’s Democrats in 2015 and attempted to make sure all Web content, whether from big or small companies, would be treated equally by Internet providers.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...ts-plan-to-rollback-its-net-neutrality-rules/
Net Neutrality is nothing more than a scheme by which companies can pass along part of their cost of doing business to the consumer (Want to watch lots of Netflix and other bandwidth-intensive things? Fork over the cash.) It was sold as "freedom" for broadband consumers, but it was nothing of the sort. It is a giveaway to the monoliths that operate in that arena.
It is a government answer to a government created problem: monopolies. What should be done is to cut that out and allow for open markets and create competition. The owner of, say, and ISP who has invested and built their own infrastructure ought to be able to treat any packets that cross their network in any fashion they see fit, including blocking it or charging for high-bandwidth applications. With more competition, it would open up the door for consumers to have a single router that would work with multiple ISPs, for example.
In any case, a positive step forward. But more deregulation is needed here.