One of the Federal Communications Commission’s top five officials has urged Americans to “make a ruckus” in response to the agency’s plan to vote next month on a policy to gut net neutrality. In an op-ed published Wednesday in the Los Angeles Times, FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel issued an urgent plea for the public to call or write to the FCC before the Dec. 14 vote. “Reach out to the rest of the FCC now,” wrote Rosenworcel, who served as a commissioner under the Obama administration from 2012 to 2017 and was unanimously confirmed to return under Chairman Ajit Pai in August. “Tell them they can’t take away internet openness without a fight.”Net neutrality is the principle that internet service providers can’t offer faster speeds and access to websites that pay them more, meaning that juggernauts like Netflix and Facebook are essentially treated equally to smaller companies. In February 2015, the FCC adopted new rules to preserve net neutrality, classifying broadband providers as public utilities like electricity or phone companies under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934.

Source: Huffington Post November 23, 2017 16:07 UTC