aljazeerapress

source: usatoday.com

The Federal Communication Commission overturned a two-year-old set of rules passed during the Obama administration to protect consumers against bad behavior from their Internet service providers, overriding protests from consumer groups and Internet companies.

The FCC’s action is seen as a victory for big telecom and cable companies such as AT&T, Charter, Comcast and Verizon. The current rules, which prevented Internet service providers (ISPs) from blocking and throttling content, went into effect in 2015.

The new regulations, passed by the Republican-controlled commissions’ 3-2 vote, instead require ISPs to disclose any blocking or prioritization of their own content or from their partners. They officially take effect after publication in the Federal Register.

But opponents do not plan to go quietly and are already planning strategies to combat the regulations in Congress and the courts. Some in Congress say they will introduce Congressional Review Act legislation to overturn the measure.