On Monday, June 11, the Federal Communications Commission’s December 14, 2017 repeal of the agency’s 2015 Open Internet Order will go into effect.  This repeal not only eliminates the 2015 Open Internet Rules, but also eliminates the agency’s authority to oversee the broadband market.  The following statement should be attributed to Gigi Sohn:

The end of the 2015 net neutrality rules and the legal authority on which they are based will allow companies like Comcast, AT&T and Verizon to take control of consumers’ Internet experience and favor or disfavor websites, programming services and applications at will. Equally as important, should consumers or innovators have a complaint about fraudulent, discriminatory, privacy violating or predatory pricing practices of broadband ISPs, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) won’t answer their call. For the first time since the creation of broadband, the agency will not take responsibility for protecting consumers or competition.

If, as some expect, a federal judge allows AT&T and Time Warner to merge, consumers should expect to see the first chapter in the “cable-ization” of the Internet. This FCC has already given AT&T permission to favor its DirecTV programming on its mobile broadband service.  Expect that AT&T will also favor HBO, TNT, CNN and other Time Warner properties. Just like a cable company, AT&T and its broadband brethren will be able to pick and choose winners over the Internet.

Gigi Sohn is a Distinguished Fellow at the Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law & Policy, a Mozilla Fellow and the Benton Foundation Public Advocate. She was Counselor to former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler from November 2013-December 2016. Gigi can be reached for comment at the above email address or at 202-253-0876.  More on Gigi can be found at gigisohn.com.