End of The Internet

Federal Communications Commission announced new rules governing Internet service on Thursday. The rules effectively put an end to net neutrality, or the idea that all web traffic should be treated equally.

"Definitely, consumers are the losers," said Todd O'Boyle, a program director at Common Cause, a left-leaning public interest lobbying group.

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The FCC insists, however, that the new rules would not harm Internet users. In a blog post Thursday, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said there had been “a great deal of misinformation” about the proposal, which he said would not permit “behavior harmful to consumers or competition by limiting the openness of the Internet.”

Here are some key points to understand regarding the changes:

The new rules would allow companies like Netflix to pay Internet providers to stream their videos and other content more quickly. That could create two lanes on the Internet, fast super-highways that big tech companies can afford and a slower highway where less fortunate websites dwell, consumer advocates say.

The FCC said these deals would still be fair because Internet providers would be required to reveal how they handle traffic, how much they charge companies for access to fast lanes, and whether they’ve given preferential treatment to their own content.

The web could get more expensive. The impact on the average Internet user will likely not be felt right away. 

But over time, websites would probably pass on to consumers the costs of paying for high-speed access, according to Harold Feld, a senior vice president at the consumer group Public Knowledge.

In addition, it could become difficult to view certain websites owned by companies that can't afford to pay for access to an Internet fast lane, Feld said.  On top of Internet users potentially paying more, they would also be more confused, Feld said.

Under the proposed rules, people would need to make sense of a fragmented Internet landscape where the time it takes to load an online video would depend on whether that website paid extra to their Internet provider.

Consumers may start choosing their Internet providers based on which websites they like to visit.

America’s free market enterprise system is definitely “rigged” so that companies (not employees) win and consumers (including employees) lose.