Three weeks later, FCC releases final net neutrality repeal order

The Federal Communications Commission on December 14 last year, voted in the favor of deregulating the internet industry by eliminating some of the key rules set during the time of former President Barack Obama’s administration. Three weeks and a lot of re-scheduling later, the FCC has finally released the final version of its net neutrality repeal order. The entire list of rules and regulations can be found here. As noted by Ars Technica, the repealed version is pretty similar to the draft that has been floating online since November last year.

“In this document, the American public can see for themselves the damage done by this agency to Internet openness,” FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, a Democrat who voted against the repeal, said today. “Going forward, our broadband providers will have the power to block websites, throttle services, and censor online content.

This is not right.” She further went on to express his disappointment over the repeal by suggesting that the FCC needs to revisit, reexamine and ultimately reverse the guidelines. Mignon Clyburn, the commission’s other Democrat, weighed in on Twitter: “Text of the @FCC majority’s #NetNeutrality repeal has finally been released. Took almost 6,000 words for me to detail all that is wrong with this action. Read my complete written dissent here: (link provided).”

At the same time, Republican FCC Commissioner, Brendan Carr called the release of the net neutrality document as a “great news.” According to him, consumers will now be able to win their strong online privacy protections back that was lost back in 2015.

Since the order has been published publicly, there is only a little time left until a series of lawsuits against the FCC by state attorneys general and others, show up online. For now, the repeal has yet to be finalized officially. It will take about 60 days for the publication to take effect in the Federal Register.