ISPs can charge extra for fast gaming under FCC’s Internet rules, critics say

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | Yuichiro Chino)

Some net neutrality proponents are worried that soon-to-be-approved Federal Communications Commission rules will allow harmful fast lanes because the plan doesn’t explicitly ban “positive” discrimination.

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel’s proposed rules for Internet service providers would prohibit blocking, throttling, and paid prioritization. The rules mirror the ones imposed by the FCC during the Obama era and repealed during Trump’s presidency. But some advocates are criticizing a decision to let Internet service providers speed up certain types of applications as long as application providers don’t have to pay for special treatment.

Stanford Law Professor Barbara van Schewick, who has consistently argued for stricter net neutrality rules, wrote in a blog post on Thursday that “harmful 5G fast lanes are coming.”