Tom Wheeler (Photo : Reuters)
Some senior members of the Republican block finally conceded to United States President Barack Obama on Tuesday after an arduous effort to stop the regulation of the Internet. The group ceded their cause after thousands of Internet activists rallied towards the side of net neutrality.
The Federal Communications Commission is now the main regulating body of the Internet after it was voted that the service will be declared as a public utility. This will prohibit big internet service providers into providing "fast lanes" to premium paying customers. The voting body, composed of two Republican and three Democratic commissioner including FCC chairman Tom Wheeler, finally set the debate over on a vote of 3-2 in favor of regulating the Internet.
The vote will impose the concept of Open Internet and would ban the intentional throttling of Internet speeds for companies who refuse to pay Internet service providers, according to the The Verge.
The Republican block over on Capitol Hills are now drafting a legislative response in hopes of undoing what they consider is the biggest policy shift since the Internet came to conception, according to the New York Times.
South Dakota's Republican senator John Thune issued a statement saying, "We're not going to get a signed bill that doesn't have Democrats' support. This is an issue that needs to have bipartisan support." Senator Thune is the chairman of the Senate's Commerce Committee.
The new FCC ruling will be faced by a massive court battle from big cable providers along with Internet service providers in hopes of toppling the regulations. In fact, some executive of big network providers have already issued threat of legal actions long before the net neutrality issue was closed.
