U.S. regulators on Thursday advanced a "net neutrality" proposal that would ban Internet providers from blocking or slowing down access to websites but may let them charge content companies for faster and more reliable delivery of their traffic to users.
For the next four months, the public can weigh in on the rules proposed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in what promises to be an intense tug-of-war — pitting some tech companies and consumer advocates against Republicans and broadband providers — over the extent to which the agency can regulate Internet traffic.
Dozens protested the vote at the FCC on Thursday. Many consumer advocates have rejected FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler's proposal to allow some "commercially reasonable" deals in which content companies could pay broadband providers to prioritize traffic on their networks.