The Federal Communications Commission will vote to end its net neutrality rules Dec. 14, chairman Ajit Pai announced Tuesday, The Verge reported.
"Under my proposal, the federal government will stop micromanaging the Internet," Pai said in a statement emailed to reporters. "Instead, the FCC would simply require Internet service providers to be transparent about their practices so that consumers can buy the service plan that's best for them, and entrepreneurs and other small businesses can have the technical information they need to innovate."
Pai's plan would fully dismantle the Obama-era net neutrality regulations by rescinding rules that bar Internet service providers from blocking or slowing web traffic or creating so-called paid Internet fast lanes and eliminating the legal foundation of the rules the FCC's Democratic majority adopted in 2015, according to Politico.
The move is likely to spark a major battle before the FCC's vote, as some 22 million comments have already been submitted to the regulator about the proposals, and activists have deluged congressmen with more than 250,000 calls condemning the plan, according to The Guardian.
Court challenges also are expected.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called the decision "an all-out assault on the entrepreneurship, innovation, and competition at the heart of the Internet."
Pai, who has criticized the current rules as depressing investment in building Internet networks and innovation, said he would release his full plan to the public Wednesday.
Republican lawmakers have applauded Pai's plans, although some say they do not go far enough, according to Politico.
"While I support Chairman Pai's efforts as an improvement, I still strongly believe the only way to create long-term certainty for the internet ecosystem is for Congress to pass a bipartisan law," Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune said in a statement.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.