FCC Approves Net Neutrality Rules to “Protect the Open Internet”

Today, in a 3-2 decision, the FCC approved the latest rule proposal from Chairman Tom Wheeler. Earlier this year, Wheeler announced a proposal that would seek to classify the internet as a public utility. Doing so would prevent internet service providers from adding in "fast lanes" for premium customers, service throttling, or blocking access to any legal content.

This has huge implications for games and video game consoles specifically. It guarantees that internet service providers won’t be able to charge extra for access to Twitch, game downloads, or an MMO – services that can use quite a bit of bandwidth. The decision will also apply to mobile internet providers, affecting the smartphone service plans that guarantee a certain amount of high-speed data before throttling it.

"The action that we take today is an irrefutable reflection of the principle that no one, whether government or corporate, should control free and open access to the internet," Wheeler said.

Up until last year, the FCC prevented Internet providers from prioritizing one type of content over any other. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit struck that down however, prompting the FCC to change the way the government treats broadband internet access entirely. These new rules provide much stronger tools to maintain what proponents of net neutrality consider to be a free and open internet.

Clearly not everyone at the FCC was thrilled with the changes, however. Two out of the five commissioners attempted to petition the FCC to publish their new rules and let the American public debate them for no less than 30 days. That request was denied.

Ajut Pai, one of the two commissioners that voted against the rules, said that this order will assure "higher broadband prices, slower broadband speeds, less broadband deployment, less innovation, and fewer options for consumers."

In a report from the Verge, the creator of the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee, stood behind the decision. "We have to add net neutrality to a list of basic market conditions that we accept," he said.

In a related decision earlier today, the FCC also agreed to override state restrictions on municipal broadband, allowing cities to build out their own competing networks in the same way that they now provide water. This, proponents say, will help ensure cheap, high-speed internet access to everyone. So far this ruling only affects the two cities that specifically filed petitions: Wilson, North Carolina and Chattanooga, Tennessee, but the decision sets a strong precedent.

"The human faces of those who are condemned to second-rate broadband are a message to all of us," Wheeler said.

For more information about the issues surrounding net neutrality, check out this special report on GameSpot sister site CNET.