The Fight for Net Neutrality

Right now the FCC is considering a proposal to roll back the net neutrality protections in the Open Internet Order, thereby allowing ISPs, the gatekeepers of the internet, to effectively control what you have access to and how quickly.

The FCC, led by chairman Ajit Pai, released the final draft of their plan named "Restoring Internet Freedom," which would reverse a 2015 ruling that classifies ISPs as if they were telecommunication services and instead have them be classified as information services.

The FCC is forbidden from imposing neutrality obligations on information services and this proposal gives significant authority back to the Federal Trade Commission and many fear that the FTC does not have the bandwidth to properly regulate.

This change could allow ISPs to experiment with so-called "fast lanes" for internet traffic, where some apps and services are prioritized over others.

My guest this week is Peter Eckersley, the Chief Computer Scientist for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which is an international non-profit digital rights group that has fought for our rights online for over 25 years. Peter was on the show back in April to discuss how to hide from your ISP and I am joined by Peter again to talk about what the FCC’s changes mean and how we can fight for net neutrality.