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Since the repeal of the 2015 net neutrality regulations many
states have contemplated passing their own Net Neutrality
laws. However,
so far, only California, Washington, Vermont and Portland
have passed such laws.
What does it mean for you and your small business?
Due to the lack of a national law, states believe they have
the green light to pass such laws, even though the FCC
stipulated that states should not do so.
Individual states net neutrality laws will make it more
complicated for service providers to provide services that
comply with individual state laws.
It means that they could no long provide uniform
services across the nation.
This could drive up the cost of providing Internet
services. This
higher cost would eventually be passed on to consumers.
The net neutrality laws being passed by individual states
seek to re-impose some of the guidelines enshrined in the
2015 rules before it’s repeal in 2018.
Some of these rules include:
-The blocking or slowing down of certain websites or classes
of applications (like video).
-Prevents “fast lanes”.
Bans paid prioritization where some websites could
pay more for faster access.
-Stops Internet providers from using some types of
“zero-rating”.
This is when companies exempt certain traffic from counting
against a customer’s data usage.
Companies that are Internet Service Providers and
content providers could take advantage of this to the
detriment to their competitors who are not Internet Service
providers.
In repealing the 2015 law the FCC implemented new
regulations called “light-tough” which took a less
heavy-handed approach to regulating the Internet.
The 2015 rules require Internet Service Providers to
be regulated as utilities where they could be heavily
regulated and hence drive up the cost of doing business,
which could be passed on to the consumers.
The 2018 change placed ISPs under the Federal Trade
Commission (FTC) for regulation where consumers would have a
better chance of having their complaints heard without
driving up the cost of doing business for the ISPs.
The law makers voting to pass these individual state laws
claim that by doing so they will lower the cost to
consumers. But,
the unintended consequences of all of these individual state
laws could mean higher cost to the average consumers,
including your small business.
In 1996, a bipartisan Congress decided that the Internet
should remain “unfettered by Federal or State regulation.”
Hence, the federal government filed suite against the
state of California for violating the law.
Until a solution is reached, either through a court decision
or national legislation, you can expect to see more states
try to pass their own net neutrality laws, which will lead
to higher costs to businesses and consumers.
No legislation is being proposed in Congress at this time to
remedy the situation.
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