The year was 2015. Hotline Bling was the song everyone was singing. Game of Thrones was still dominating watercooler talk. And Net Neutrality was the major issue the Internet was rallying behind. That year, the Obama Administration's FCC succeeded in setting rules for a neutral net that were subsequently repealed by the Trump Administration's FCC in 2017. But now, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel plans to vote on reinstating those 2015 neutrality rules again.

As TechCrunch reports, “'Safeguarding and Securing the Open Internet' is based on 2015’s Open Internet Order, which classifies broadband as a 'Title II' communication service."

What is a "Title II" communication service, you ask? “Title II" is a reference to the Communications Act of 1934, and it would "classify broadband internet as a means of communication or 'telecommunications’ rather than its current classification as an 'information service.' Title II is often equated with net neutrality, but it could actually have a larger impact on broadband access and use," notes the National Digital Inclusion Alliance. "Because this change means increased regulation for broadband services, ISPs tend to object to this change."

But if one president's administration instates such rules and the next repeals them and the game of pong repeats every 4 to 8 years, what are internet service providers (ISPs) to do?

"For this, the FCC was not able to provide a satisfactory answer," says TechCrunch, "only that it believed it had firm legal footing and a shared hope that this would be the last time the committee was forced to revisit these rules."

Meanwhile, Reuters cites that "despite the 2017 repeal, a dozen states now have net neutrality laws or regulations in place. Industry groups abandoned legal challenges to those state requirements in May 2022." In other words, if the FCC is successful this time in reinstating net neutrality, it's hard to believe that any future repeal would have general counsels at ISPs advising the executives to stop following the old laws.

Security

If you're wondering why the FCC is trying to reinstate net neutrality now—7 years after it was repealed, and 2.5 years into the Biden Administration, security and privacy concerns might be at play. "For example, without reclassification, the FCC is limited in its authority to direct foreign-owned companies deemed to be national security threats to discontinue any domestic or international broadband services under Sec. 214 [of the Communications Act]– as the agency has done with telephone services,” writes Deadline. Moreover, the FCC would be able to regulate how ISPs sell personal information of its users, and be better equipped to address service outages.

THE VERDICT:‍

Despite the political showmanship, should reinstatement pass, the regulatory back and forth has been a mess for ISPs and the internet writ large. Hopefully, once the April 25 vote comes, whatever decision is reached will stick for good this time.