The Federal Communications Commission is set to vote on pulling back net neutrality later this week, but one member is already publicly railing against chairman Ajit Pai’s proposal on Tuesday.
FCC commissioner Mignon Clyburn tweeted her “alternative plan” to save net neutrality, cheekily retitling Pai’s plan from “Restoring Internet Freedom” to “Retaining Internet Freedom.” Clyburn’s updated proposal is brief, cutting out all but 10 words on the Pai’s document’s first page — leaving it with: “After further review of the record, we affirm the 2015 Open Internet Order.”
In just 2 days, the @FCC majority will vote to repeal the nation’s #NetNeutrality rules. Today I will offer my colleagues an alternative proposal to #SaveNetNeutrality. Your thoughts? pic.twitter.com/sFQW3yi6KK
— Mignon Clyburn (@MignonClyburn) December 12, 2017
Even without tweeting the “alternate plan,” Clyburn could’ve already been pegged as a “nay” vote on Thursday. She was one of the Democratic members that pushed through the Commission’s Open Internet ruling in 2015. The decision classified broadband providers as public utilities, and outlined three core rules:
1) Broadband providers cannot block access to “legal content, applications, services, or non-harmful devices.”
2) Broadband providers cannot “throttle,” or slow down, access to “lawful internet traffic.”
3) Broadband providers cannot create “fast lanes,” or favor certain sites over others for money, and cannot prioritize content from its affiliates.
Pai’s proposal would roll back these stipulations, undoing the reclassification of internet service providers as “common carriers.” Without this classification, the FCC would be unable to stop ISPs from playing favorites or charging competitors higher prices to reach customers. The proposal is expected to pass along party lines on a 3-2 vote on Thursday.