Regulators abolish 'net neutrality' rules in heated hearing that was stopped because of a BOMB threat as protesters rallied outside
- Net neutrality is the principle that internet providers treat all web traffic equally
- Obama-era 2015 rules prohibited telecom companies from blocking or slowing down apps that rival their own services
- Now the FCC's Trump-appointed majority has repealed the rule along party lines, and protesters descended on Washington to oppose the plan
- One Democratic commissioner said Republicans were 'handing the keys to the Internet' to a 'handful of multi-billion dollar corporations'
- The Republican chairman said of the time before the rule was adopted, 'The Internet wasn't broken in 2015. We weren't living in a digital dystopia'
- The hearing room was cleared briefly following a phoned-in bomb threat so explosive-sniffing dogs could be brought in
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission
voted along party lines on Thursday to repeal landmark 2015 rules that
intended to ensure a free and open Internet, as protesters gather to
oppose the change.
The 3-2 ruling sets up a court fight over a move that opponents fear will recast the digital landscape.
The
meeting was evacuated before the vote for about 10 minutes on the basis
of what Commission Chairman Ajit Pai called 'advice from security,' and
resumed after sniffer dogs checked the building.
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