A Republican-controlled Congressional panel has voted to repeal new Federal Communications Commission rules that prohibit phone and cable companies from interfering with Internet traffic on their broadband networks.
The House Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology voted 15-to-8 Wednesday to nullify the FCC's new "network neutrality" regulations. The FCC's three Democrats voted to adopt the regulations late last year over the opposition of the agency's two Republicans.
The rules are intended to prevent phone and cable companies from using their control over broadband connections to dictate where their subscribers go and what they do online. They prohibit broadband providers from favoring or discriminating against Internet content and services, including online calling services like Skype and Web video services like Netflix that could compete with their core phone and cable operations.