This morning the FCC passed a new rule enforcing Net Neutrality for wired internet service. In the press release from the national ACLU, network neutrality is explained as the principles that “protect free speech online by prohibiting the owner of a network from prioritizing some content on the Internet while slowing other content.” (At
this link you can find lots of FAQs.)
Unfortunately though, the FCC ruling does not include protections for wireless broadband services. This distinction is important because wireless – on smart phones, laptops and hand-held devices – has become a mainstream method of accessing the internet. Without this regulation providers will be able to decrease access to phone applications, web pages and services that are provided by their competition.
In a
press release this morning, ACLU of MAINE Legal Director Zachary Heiden explains that, “Most of us do not distinguish among the phone calls, emails, text messages, and other information that we receive on our phones... Without protection for wired and wireless communication, free speech on the internet could be a thing of the past.”
Read the National ACLU press release.
Update: Zach spoke to Maine Public Radio about the new rules