Legal Ramifications of the FCC’s Vote to Repeal Net Neutrality

As anyone who even mildly uses the Internet undoubtedly knows, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) voted yesterday to repeal net neutrality.  “Net Neutrality is the principle that Internet service providers [(“ISPs”)] must treat all data on the Internet the same, and not discriminate or charge differently by users, content, website, platform, application, type of attached equipment, or method of communication.”  Essentially, without net neutrality, ISPs like Comcast, AT&T, and Charter will be able to charge for different types of internet packages similar to how we pay for cable (which is already annoying enough in itself, amirite?)  This means that we could be paying more for having high speed internet or accessing certain websites and applications like Facebook, Netflix, and Spotify.

The repeal of net neutrality is not only troublesome from a personal standpoint (if the repeal stands then we all will be paying more to access internet services we both want and need on a daily basis), but from a legal standpoint as well.  For instance, what if someone is defaming you online but you don’t have paid access to the website they are defaming you?  How are you able to monitor and protect your trademarked brand or copyrighted work if infringement is occurring on inaccessible websites?  Could cybersquatters start to run rampant registering domain names that are likely to cause confusion?  Are ISPs violating the First Amendment by restricting the type of content people can see on the Internet? The questions are endless and cannot be fully evaluated until an internet without net neutrality is reality.  The internet is already moving much faster than the law can keep up and eliminating net neutrality would only complicate internet legality further.

As a law firm that not only practices Internet Law but also operates nearly all of its critical functions and client communication on the internet, the FCC’s vote to repeal net neutrality is alarming.  Traverse Legal’s founding Attorney Enrico Schaefer commented that, “Many ISPs already have monopoly power in many areas of the country. Allowing them free reign to charge websites and end-users money for preferential treatment of data transfer is a fundamental change to the internet. Why fix something that is not broken?”

Despite all the hype, we likely will not see changes to the way we access and surf the internet for awhile.  The fight for net neutrality is far from over as several States, including Illinois and Iowa, have already declared their intent to appeal the FCC’s decision.  There could be months of court battles before a final decision is rendered.  Traverse Legal will continue to monitor for updates on net neutrality as more information comes to light.

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