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Net Neutrality

Net neutrality is a set of rules adopted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) which say Internet Service Providers (ISPs) such as Comcast, Time Warner, AT&T, and Verizon, cannot block, throttle, or prioritize certain content on the Internet.

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Votes to Restore Net Neutrality Rules (Published 2024)  The New York Times 'Net neutrality' is ending. Here's how your internet use could change  PBS Myths vs. Facts: Net Neutrality  American Legislative Exchange Council Net Neutrality  Electronic Frontier Foundation Net neutrality: Everything you need to know  ExpressVPN Why Net Neutrality Can’t Wait  American Civil Liberties Union Cantwell, Markey Commend Upcoming FCC Net Neutrality Rule - U.S. Senate Committe...  U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation (.gov) US appeals court blocks Biden administration effort to restore net-neutrality rules  Reuters Net Neutrality Rules Struck Down by Appeals Court (Published 2025)  The New York Times Net Neutrality's Winners and Losers  University of Virginia School of Law The Tangled Web of Net Neutrality and Regulation  Harvard Business Review What the Reinstatement of Net Neutrality Means for Higher Education  EdTech Magazine Why Congress Shouldn’t Restore Net Neutrality  The Heritage Foundation Net neutrality 2.0: Perspectives on FCC regulation of internet service providers  Brookings Chairwoman Rosenworcel Archive: Net Neutrality  Federal Communications (.gov) Why the FCC’s Net Neutrality Rules Were Struck Down  Perkins Coie The Internet Service Business Without Net Neutrality  Fordham Law News Net Neutrality Violations: A History of Abuse  freepress.net Net Neutrality Explained  NYU Law School FCC Reinstates Net Neutrality Rules  Wiley Rein FCC Repeals 'Net Neutrality' Rules For Internet Providers  NPR FCC Moves to Revive Net Neutrality Rules, Setting Up Another Lengthy Regulatory Battle  Akin What loss of net neutrality could mean for consumers, content providers  Northeastern Global News Kavanaugh on net neutrality: U.S. Telecom Association v. Federal Communications Commission  SCOTUSblog Understanding Net Neutrality  Third Way Net Neutrality is True Target of GOP Obstruction Over FCC Nominees  Tech Policy Press F.C.C. Repeals Net Neutrality Rules (Published 2017)  The New York Times What the End of Net Neutrality Actually Means  Knowledge at Wharton How Big Tech Uses Net Neutrality To Subvert Competition  promarket.org A Case Against Net Neutrality  IEEE Spectrum The Death of Net Neutrality Is a Bad Omen  WIRED FCC chair Ajit Pai explains why he wants to scrap net neutrality  PBS US court blocks Biden administration net neutrality rules  Reuters Net Neutrality: A Free and Open Internet  National Archives (.gov) What Is Net Neutrality? Policies and Controversy  Investopedia Washington becomes first state to pass net neutrality protections into law  Medium Here’s who’ll benefit — and who might not — if net neutrality is repealed as expected  Los Angeles Times Net Neutrality Reclassification Could Add $15 Billion in New User Fees  Brookings Net Neutrality 2020 Legislation  National Conference of State Legislatures A Year Without Net Neutrality: No Big Changes (Yet)  WIRED Net Neutrality May Finally Be Dead—Good Riddance  City Journal This Is How Net Neutrality Will End  American Civil Liberties Union The Sixth Circuit Stays the FCC’s Latest Net Neutrality Flip-Flop  The Federalist Society Federal court decision won’t change California net neutrality law  Los Angeles Times Understanding net neutrality: 10 essential reads  The Conversation How the FCC's Net Neutrality Plan Breaks With 50 Years of History  WIRED Court strikes down US net neutrality rules  BBC The FCC Can’t Give You Net Neutrality  The Federalist Society Regulating Internet Service Providers as Common Carriers Will Not Satisfy Net Neutrality Advocates  Brookings Net neutrality rules about corporate control over internet speeds blocked by federal appeals court  CBS News What Will Happen if the FCC Abandons Net Neutrality?  Knowledge at Wharton Net neutrality rules reinstatement temporarily halted by US appeals court  Reuters Net Neutrality Is About Control, Not Consumers  American Enterprise Institute - AEI Sixth Circuit strikes down new neutrality regulation  Mackinac Center Red Alert for Net Neutrality  Creative Commons Net Neutrality Repeal: What Could Happen and How It Could Affect You (Published 2017)  The New York Times The Supreme Court and House Democrats breathe new life into net neutrality  Brookings Net Neutrality is Back! – Open Policy & Advocacy  blog.mozilla.org What Net Neutrality Means for Students and Educators  National Education Association | NEA Experts Disagree on Net Neutrality Legal Ground  Broadband Breakfast Net Neutrality Explained: What It Means (and Why It Matters)  Fortune In blow to Democrats, federal appeals court strikes down net neutrality  The Washington Post In the net neutrality debate, what might follow Mozilla v. FCC?  Brookings Repealing Net Neutrality: Implications for Cybersecurity  American Enterprise Institute - AEI FCC Announces Plan to Abandon Net Neutrality and ISP Privacy  Electronic Frontier Foundation Net neutrality is back. What does that mean for schools?  K-12 Dive A return to US net neutrality rules?  The Cloudflare Blog F.C.C. Plans Net Neutrality Repeal in a Victory for Telecoms (Published 2017)  The New York Times Net neutrality rules restored by US agency, reversing Trump  Reuters Law Prof van Schewick Calls Net Neutrality Ruling 'a Radical Decision’  Broadband Breakfast FCC Net Neutrality Online Public Comments Contain Many Inaccuracies and Duplicates  Pew Research Center

What is Net Neutrality?

Net neutrality is the principle that Internet service providers must treat all data on the Internet the same, and not discriminate or charge differently by user, content, website, platform, application, type of attached equipment, or method of communication. For instance, under these principles, internet service providers are unable to intentionally block, slow down or charge money for specific websites and online content.

The term was coined by Columbia University media law professor Tim Wu in 2003, as an extension of the longstanding concept of a common carrier, which was used to describe the role of telephone systems.

A widely cited example of a violation of net neutrality principles was the Internet service provider Comcast's secret slowing ("throttling") of uploads from peer-to-peer file sharing (P2P) applications by using forged packets. Comcast did not stop blocking these protocols, like BitTorrent, until the FCC ordered them to stop. In another minor example, The Madison River Communications company was fined US$15,000 by the FCC, in 2004, for restricting their customers' access to Vonage, which was rivaling their own services. AT&T was also caught limiting access to FaceTime, so only those users who paid for AT&T's new shared data plans could access the application. In July 2017, Verizon Wireless was accused of throttling after users noticed that videos played on Netflix and Youtube were slower than usual, though Verizon commented that it was conducting "network testing" and that net neutrality rules permit "reasonable network management practices".

Research suggests that a combination of policy instruments will help realize the range of valued political and economic objectives central to the network neutrality debate. Combined with strong public opinion, this has led some governments to regulate broadband Internet services as a public utility, similar to the way electricity, gas, and the water supply are regulated, along with limiting providers and regulating the options those providers can offer.