Network Neutrality: The End of the Beginning (Again)

With federal policy debates currently dominated by tax-and-spending issues along with immigration, one might easily lose sight of the relatively recent, dramatic shift in Federal Communications Commission (FCC) policy on network neutrality. In part, this is because the 2017 FCC order changing the rules on network neutrality has yet to take full effect. On February 22, the FCC finally published in the Federal Register the order that Republican commissioners passed in December on a 3-2 vote. That gives legal force to limited elements of the order, but most of its provisions, including the most significant ones overturning network neutrality protections, will not become official until the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approves data collection requirements involved in the order’s implementation.

University Professional and Continuing Education Association, UNBOUND