In a news conference, Sean Spicer, the White House spokesman, mentioned the net neutrality rules affecting telecommunications and cable internet services, noting<br />that the Obama administration had “reclassified them as common carriers.”<br />Mr. Spicer said President Trump had “pledged to reverse this overreach.” The Obama-era rules, Mr. Spicer said, were an example of “bureaucrats<br />in Washington” placing restrictions on one kind of company — internet service suppliers — and “picking winners and losers.”<br />Telecommunications and cable television companies fought being classified as common-carrier<br />utility services, which are subject to anti-blocking and anti-discrimination rules.<br />Net Neutrality Is Trump’s Next Target, Administration Says -<br />By STEVE LOHRMARCH 30, 2017<br />The Trump administration served notice on Thursday<br />that its next move to deregulate broadband internet service companies would be to jettison the Obama administration’s net neutrality rules, which were intended to safeguard free expression online.<br />The net neutrality rules, approved by the Federal Communications Commission in 2015, aimed to preserve the open internet and ensure<br />that it could not be divided into pay-to-play fast lanes for web and media companies that can afford it and slow lanes for everyone else.<br />Since becoming chairman, Mr. Pai has indicated that he plans to either roll back or decline to enforce many consumer<br />protection regulations created during the Obama administration, including those regarding net neutrality.<br />Mr. Pai voted against the net neutrality rules as a commission member in 2015.
