The Federal Communications Commission looks poised to reinstate net neutrality, a move that will be welcomed by many in the tech industry.
Net neutrality is regulation that prohibits companies from favoring or restricting certain internet traffic. An example is AT&T not counting Max access against users’ mobile data since it owns the streaming service, but counting access to rival streaming services against those data plans.
Under the Trump administration, then-Chair Ajit Pai led the charge to dismantle net neutrality regulation that had been previously passed. According to Bloomberg, with the addition of a fifth commission, sources say the FCC is preparing to once again unveil net neutrality regulation.
While some companies — mainly ISPs and other companies that benefit from being able to discriminate against certain types of data — much of the tech industry embraced net neutrality. Internet startups, in particular, benefit greatly from the regulation, as it prevents them from being priced out of the market if ISPs choose to throttle their traffic unless they pay more.