The FCC's net neutrality dream took another hit as the U.S. House of Representatives voted to reject the proposed rules.
In a 240-179 vote, House Republicans passed a resolution to "disapprove" the FCC's net neutrality rules.
Although the U.S. Senate has developed a similar proposal to ban the rules, President Barack Obama's advisers said they would suggest he veto the measure.
These rules, which were passed by the FCC in late December, prevent ISPs from blocking specific applications (video and file sharing) on their networks, but give large service provider telcos like AT&T (NYSE: T) and Verizon (NYSE: VZ) and cable operators like Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) some control over how they manage their network traffic.
Net neutrality has been a divisive issue among the legislature. Republicans argue the agency is overstepping its boundaries with unnecessary regulations. "The FCC has never had the authority to regulate the Internet," said Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla.
Democrats, meanwhile, believe that the rules will protect consumer's interests. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif. said that disapproving the FCC rules "would give big phone and cable companies control over what websites Americans can visit, what applications they can run, and what devices they can use."
Despite the House's challenge of the rules, the FCC did gain one point in the net neutrality fight when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia dismissed suits filed by both Verizon and MetroPCS (NYSE: PCS) because it said the challenges were "premature."
For more:
- Reuters has this article
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