Biden's executive order will (probably) restore net neutrality
US president Joe Biden took a major step toward restoring net neutrality on July 9, a set of rules preventing internet service providers from selectively blocking or slowing down web traffic. In a sweeping executive order aimed at increasing competition in the American economy, Biden directed federal regulators to consider restoring net neutrality rules adopted under former president Barack Obama in 2015 and revoked under former president Donald Trump in 2017.
Before Biden can revive net neutrality after its untimely death at the hands of the Trump-era FCC, he’ll need the Senate to cooperate.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has the power to make and enforce net neutrality rules. But the commission is trapped in partisan gridlock because there’s a vacancy on its five-member board. That leaves the two Democrat-appointed members and two Republican-appointed members deadlocked on major decisions like restoring net neutrality.
Until Biden nominates and the Senate approves the appointment of a fifth commissioner to serve as a tie-breaker, the FCC appears incapable of acting on Biden’s order, according to Evan Greer, deputy director of the internet advocacy group Fight for the Future. “The Executive Order has a lot of great words, but we need to see some action for those words to mean anything,” she wrote in a statement. “To achieve many of the goals laid out in this order, the Biden administration needs to move quickly to nominate a fifth FCC commissioner who doesn’t have ties to the telecom industry and will stand up to the [internet service providers].”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/biden-s-executive-order-will-probably-restore-net-neutrality/ar-AAM1PXL