Here’s Some Positive News: The Person Responsible For Killing Net Neutrality Is Leaving

Vox reports that Ajit Pai will be stepping down as FCC chair on January 20, 2021, the same day President-elect Biden is sworn into office. Pai is the individual singlehandedly responsible for gutting Net Neutrality, the set of regulations that used to require Telecom providers, (like Internet Service Providers Comcast, Verizon, Time Warner, and AT&T) to deliver all web content at the same speed.

When it was a thing, net neutrality created an even playing field that allowed nonprofit performing arts organizations the very same ability to deliver their content to users as Amazon, Google, or Facebook.

Pai used numerous ham-fisted tactics to kill the regulation entirely. He also went the extra step of salting the earth by adding new regulations that make it all but impossible for a new FCC chair to reverse.

Moving forward, it will likely take buy-in from both houses of Congress and the White House to pass the Save the Internet Act which would restore protections for reasonable Internet service and prevent ISPs from throttling traffic, censoring content, and imposing unfair fees.