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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.

What the FCC's net neutrality decision means for consumers  Mashable Network Neutrality | ALA  American Library Association A year end blessing: No net neutrality  Competitive Enterprise Institute Trump admin demands states exempt ISPs from net neutrality and price laws  Ars Technica Net neutrality was back, until it wasn’t  The Verge Carr Eliminates Already Defunct Net Neutrality Regulations  Broadband Breakfast Kessler bill to establish net neutrality standards in Maine is now law  Maine.gov In Rush Order — and Without Public Comment — Trump FCC Removes Net Neutrality Rules  freepress.net EFF and 80 Organizations Call on EU Policymakers to Preserve Net Neutrality in the Digital Networks Act  Electronic Frontier Foundation Maine Net Neutrality Law Not Expected to Impact Services  GovTech Net neutrality is dead — welcome to the age of ‘pay-to-play’ and premium access  The Hill Maine net neutrality bill becomes law without Mills' signature  newscentermaine.com Public Interest Groups Quiet on Net Neutrality Ahead of Aug. 8 Supreme Court Deadline  Broadband Breakfast The fight for net neutrality is forever  The Verge Net neutrality advocates won’t appeal loss, say they don’t trust Supreme Court  Ars Technica Net Neutrality Bill in Maine Becomes Law Without Governor’s Signature  Broadband Breakfast Maine Legislature Passes Bill Expanding Net Neutrality  Broadband Breakfast Public Interest Groups Won’t Take Net Neutrality Case to Supreme Court Now  Broadband Breakfast SCOTUS Grants Extension For Net Neutrality Petitioners  Broadband Breakfast Pennsylvania Introduces Bill to Restore Net Neutrality Protections  Broadband Breakfast US Court Strikes Down FCC Net Neutrality Rules in 2025  WebProNews FCC axes Net Neutrality rules, which weren't in effect anyway  ConsumerAffairs Trump FCC Chair Accused of 'Political Theater' to Please Net Neutrality's Foes  Common Dreams Sixth Circuit Denies Rehearing in Net Neutrality Challenge  Broadband Breakfast Groups ask US court to reconsider ruling blocking net neutrality rules  Reuters Comcast-BitTorrent, Wireless Net Neutrality Issues Stir Debate at Broadband Policy Summit  Broadband Breakfast ISPs fear wave of state laws after New York’s $15 broadband mandate  Stanford Law School Chairwoman Rosenworcel Archive: Net Neutrality  Federal Communications Commission (.gov) Public Interest Groups Pause Supreme Court Bid on Net Neutrality Case  PYMNTS.com Net Neutrality Is At Risk Again, And The Free Market Won’t Save Us  Forbes Full Sixth Circuit Won’t Revisit Struck Net Neutrality Rules  Bloomberg Law News A court squashes net neutrality; what next for the FCC?  Federal News Network Why the End of U.S. Net Neutrality Matters  Scientific American The Uncertain Future of Net Neutrality and Internet Regulation  Pryor Cashman LLP Net Neutrality Needs to Be Preserved  The Well News New America’s Open Technology Institute Joins Public Interest Intervenors in Calling for Rehearing of Sixth Circuit Net Neutrality Decision  New America What the End of U.S. Net Neutrality Means for Your Netflix Experience  Scientific American Risks remain after Congress’s deregulatory net neutrality choice is affirmed  Competitive Enterprise Institute Verizon’s consumer chief: Net neutrality ‘went literally nowhere’  The Verge 8 Things That Could Happen Without Net Neutrality  SlashGear Bad News For Net Neutrality  No Jitter AI makes the fight for net neutrality even more important  Brookings Sixth Circuit strikes down new neutrality regulation  Mackinac Center Don’t be fooled: Net neutrality is about more than just blocking and throttling  Brookings Net neutrality is back: U.S. promises fast, safe and reliable internet for all  NPR The End of Net Neutrality  Cato Institute After Net Neutrality: The Return of the States  American Enterprise Institute - AEI What is Net Neutrality and Why is it Important?  All About Cookies Net neutrality is struck, ending a long battle to regulate ISPs like public utilities  NPR Legal Scholar: Net Neutrality ‘National Nightmare’ Over  Broadband Breakfast The FCC’s Groundhog Day: The mistake of bringing back net neutrality  Americans for Prosperity Reinstating ‘Net Neutrality’ Is to Ignore Reality  Cato Institute Why the FCC’s Net Neutrality Rules Were Struck Down  Perkins Coie Net Neutrality Is Back, for Now  Perkins Coie The Myth of Net Neutrality and the Reality of Network Management  American Enterprise Institute - AEI FCC Votes To Restore Net Neutrality: A Win For Consumers And Democracy  Forbes F.C.C. Votes to Restore Net Neutrality Rules (Published 2024)  The New York Times Lawmakers look for more time on broadband bills  Vermont Business Magazine US court blocks Biden administration net neutrality rules  Reuters What Is Net Neutrality? Myths and Realities  freepress.net Net Neutrality Rules Struck Down by Appeals Court (Published 2025)  The New York Times Everyone is celebrating the net neutrality victory, but what the heck is it?  Pensacola News Journal Court strikes down US net neutrality rules  BBC ISPs Drop Legal Fight Against California Net Neutrality Law  Stanford Law School Law Prof van Schewick Calls Net Neutrality Ruling 'a Radical Decision’  Broadband Breakfast UPDATE: Net Neutrality Open Internet Order Set Aside  Davis Wright Tremaine ACLU Comment on Sixth Circuit Decision to Overturn Net Neutrality | American Civil Liberties Union  American Civil Liberties Union How Big Tech Uses Net Neutrality To Subvert Competition  promarket.org F.C.C. Repeals Net Neutrality Rules (Published 2017)  The New York Times Federal court strikes down FCC net neutrality rules. What it means for using the internet  The Providence Journal FCC net neutrality rule among first to fall in Loper Bright’s aftermath  Legal Dive Court blocks FCC’s net neutrality rules from going into effect again  StateScoop FCC Moves to Revive Net Neutrality Rules, Setting Up Another Lengthy Regulatory Battle  Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP US appeals court blocks Biden administration effort to restore net-neutrality rules  Reuters Net neutrality is back as FCC votes to regulate internet providers  CNN The Sixth Circuit Stays the FCC’s Latest Net Neutrality Flip-Flop  The Federalist Society What's Next for Net Neutrality?  Broadband Breakfast What the Reinstatement of Net Neutrality Means for Higher Education  EdTech Magazine Net Neutrality Is and Has Always Been a Bipartisan Issue  New America Why Net Neutrality Can’t Wait  American Civil Liberties Union ISPs Ask Supreme Court to Find N.Y. Law Illegal – After Net Neutrality is Sorted Out  Broadband Breakfast President Biden: The Time To Restore Net Neutrality Is Now  American Civil Liberties Union HNet Neutrality Overturned: Appeals Court Ruling Redraws the Internet’s Future  Investopedia Cantwell, Markey Commend Upcoming FCC Net Neutrality Rule - U.S. Senate Committe...  Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation (.gov) US appeals court overturns FCC decision reinstating net neutrality rules - JURIST - News  Jurist.org The FCC Can’t Give You Net Neutrality  The Federalist Society Myths vs. Facts: Net Neutrality  American Legislative Exchange Council FCC’s ‘Net Neutrality’ Rules Struck Down. Could This Mean Slower Internet for Schools?  Education Week The Sixth Circuit Strikes Net Neutrality in a Victory for Tech and Administrative Law  American Enterprise Institute - AEI Net Neutrality Violations: A History of Abuse  freepress.net The Tangled Web of Net Neutrality and Regulation  Harvard Business Review Federal court decision won’t change California net neutrality law  Los Angeles Times Net neutrality is struck, ending a long battle to regulate ISPs like public utilities  Texas Public Radio | TPR Net neutrality is back. What does that mean for schools?  K-12 Dive What happened to the internet without net neutrality? : The Indicator from Planet Money  NPR Sixth Circuit Strikes Down FCC Net Neutrality Rules  Inside Global Tech Net neutrality dealt a final blow in court  RCR Wireless News What is net neutrality? Why a federal appeals court struck down the FCC rules  USA Today Net Neutrality is Back: A Legal Perspective on the FCC’s Recent Vote to Reinstate Neutrality  Spencer Fane Net Neutrality is True Target of GOP Obstruction Over FCC Nominees  Tech Policy Press

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.