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How The New Internet Rules Could Undermine Net Neutrality

Igor Volsky of ThinkProgress report:

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will release proposed draft rules on Thursday that will “allow content companies to pay Internet service providers for special access to consumers,” the Wall Street Journal reports, potentially undermining the principle of net neutrality on the Internet.

Under the new rules, broadband providers (ISPs) like Verizon or Comcast would be able to charge companies like Netflix or Amazon separate fees to deliver video or other services in a special faster lane on the “last mile” of broadband “that connects directly to consumers’ homes.” Content companies may then pass on those additional costs to consumers. ISPs would be prohibited from blocking or discriminating against specific websites and would be required to spell out “commercially reasonable” terms that would be available to all interested content providers. The FCC would review each deal on a “case by case basis,” the Journal notes.

The new guidelines — which the New York Times describes as “a complete turnaround” for the commission — come after a federal court decision in January that struck down a rule that required broadband providers to treat all Internet traffic the same regardless of the source.

Read the full story here:

After January’s court decision, Netflix was forced to pay an ISP toll to Comcast in order to reverse what Neflix politely refers to as “an unacceptable decline” in their members’ video experience on the Comcast network. What it really was was a case of corporate extortion. Read more about it here.

How many businesses will be held to ransom like Netflix under the new non-neutral Net Neutrality rules?

And how much of the cost of these ISP preferred access bribes will be passed on to YOU, the consumer?