Regulatory classification

The Federal Communications Commission voted to repeal network neutrality rules on December 14, but the FCC is still making edits to the repeal order and hasn't released the final version. The final order should be similar to the draft released by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai three weeks before the vote, but some changes will be made. "The goal is to release it as soon as possible," an FCC spokesperson said. The spokesperson said he can't discuss any changes made to the draft order until a final version is released.

Here are five fights the tech world will be watching closely in 2018:

1. Net neutrality
2. Election transparency
3. AT&T-Time Warner merger
4. Cryptocurrency
5. Sex-trafficking

Internet users are complaining more about net neutrality-related issues since the Federal Communications Commission voted to repeal the existing net neutrality rules earlier this month, according to the FCC's consumer complaint data. As of Dec 23, consumers filed 2,388 in December, a sharp increase over the 157 complaints filed in October. The FCC voted to reverse the net neutrality rules on Dec. 14.

Democrats see an opportunity to capitalize on the massive backlash to the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to repeal its network neutrality rules. The question is whether the outrage on Reddit forums can translate into votes for Democratic candidates next fall given the fact that younger people engaged on the issue are often the least reliable voters — particularly in midterm elections.

How soon can you win a legal victory and end this nightmare? The soonest Free Press can file in court is after the order is published, either by the Federal Communications Commission itself or in that Federal Register. (There are some complicated timing rules that can apply differently to different parts of the FCC’s vote, so that’s why there’s some flexibility.) Once that publication happens, we’ll file within 10 days — a timeframe set for making a first appearance and starting the process to determine which federal appeals court will hear the case.

On December 14, 2017, the Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 to dismantle the agency’s 2015 net neutrality rules. As a long-standing champion of net neutrality and one of the two FCC Commissioners who vociferously objected to the decision, Commissioner Clyburn believes it is important for consumers and small businesses to understand what happens next.

What protections will I lose online as a result of the FCC majority’s repeal of net neutrality? Once the FCC’s net neutrality repeal action goes into effect, broadband providers will be allowed to:

House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) announced that she introduced the “Open Internet Preservation Act,” which she claims would “ensure there is no blocking” and “no throttling,” of internet traffic. However, critics fear that Blackburn’s bill would only enhance some of the fears internet activists have had before and after the Federal Communications Commission voted, along party lines, to dismantle the 2015 Open Internet Order, essentially killing net neutrality rules.

[Commentary] With a 3-2 vote, the Federal Communications Commission overturned a long tradition — one that had only culminated in 2015 in the formalizing of the principle of net neutrality, but that had been honored long before open internet rules became official. The old rules were easy for service providers to follow and their repeal creates incentives to slow down net services to extract premium prices.

[Commentary] We can’t trust that Comcast will protect our right to communicate without rules forcing them to do just that. So we’re back from Washington and ready to fight to keep the internet open for the poorest big city in America and beyond. Local communities have a big role to play. First, Congressional leaders have already moved to fully undo the horrible vote Ajit Pai’s Federal Communications Commission took on the 14th, with something called the Congressional Review Act.

The United Nation’s freedom of speech expert said he was concerned about the ramifications of a decision in the United States to roll back net neutrality, since it could lead to small and independent voices being drowned out on the web.  David Kaye, an American law professor and the UN Human Rights Council’s independent expert on freedom of expression, said net neutrality, the idea that all internet traffic should be treated the same regardless of content, was essential.