Net neutrality restored as FCC votes to regulate internet providers

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday voted to restore “net neutrality” rules that prevent broadband internet providers such as Comcast and Verizon from favoring some sites and apps over others.

The move effectively reinstates a net neutrality order the commission first issued in 2015 during the Obama administration. In 2017, under then-President Donald Trump, the FCC repealed those rules.

The measure passed Thursday on a 3-2 vote split along party lines, with Democratic commissioners in favor and Republicans opposed.

Net neutrality effectively requires providers of internet service to treat all traffic equally, eliminating any incentive they might face to favor business partners or to hobble competitors. The public interest group Public Knowledge describes net neutrality as “the principle that the company that connects you to the internet does not get to control what you do on the internet.”

The rules, for instance, ban practices that throttle or block certain sites or apps, or that reserve higher speeds for the services or customers willing to pay more for them.

“In our post-pandemic world, we know that broadband is a necessity, not a luxury,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement ahead of the vote.

While it's been almost seven years since the FCC killed the previous net neutrality rules, their reinstatement isn't expected to noticeably change users' online experience. Public Knowledge legal director John Bergmayer credits that to several states having passed their own net neutrality measures prior to 2015, all of which remained in force when the FCC reversed course two years later following Trump's election.

“Some of the absolute worst excesses from (internet providers) were kept in check by state level oversight,” Bergmayer said.

States like California went even further than the FCC did — for instance, by banning a practice called “zero rating.” That's where, for instance, a mobile provider might strike a business deal to steer users toward a particular streaming service by zeroing out any related data charges. Other states with strong net neutrality rules include Colorado, Maine, Oregon, Vermont and Washington, according to Bergmayer.

The telecommunications industry opposed the reintroduction of the federal rules, as it has before, declaring them an example of unnecessary government interference in business decisions.

FILE - The seal of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is seen before an FCC meeting to vote on net neutrality, Dec. 14, 2017, in Washington. The FCC on Thursday, April 25, 2024 restored “net neutrality” rules that prevent broadband internet providers such as Comcast and AT&T from favoring some sites and apps over others.. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A driver died after a vehicle crashed into a gate at the White House Saturday night, but the fatal collision is being investigated “only as a traffic crash” and there was no threat to the president’s residence, law enforcement authorities said.

The male driver, who was not immediately identified, was found dead in the vehicle following the crash shortly before 10:30 p.m. at an outer perimeter gate of the White House complex, the U.S. Secret Service said in a statement.

The Washington Metropolitan Police Department said the vehicle crashed into a security barrier at the intersection of 15th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW.

“At this time, the incident is being investigated only as a traffic crash by MPD’s Major Crash Investigations Unit," the metro police said in a statement posted on social media.

Security protocols were implemented but there was no threat to the White House, the Secret Service said.

The Secret Service will continue to investigate the matter, while turning over the fatal crash portion of the investigation to the metro police, the agency said.

FILE - The White House is visible through the fence at the North Lawn in Washington, on June 16, 2016. A driver died Saturday night, May 4, 2024 after crashing a vehicle into a gate at the White House, authorities said. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)