The meeting was highly charged, reflecting the public controversy over whether to preserve or eliminate the Obama-era rules. As if to punctuate the drama, attendees at the FCC hearing were forced to abruptly clear the room over unspecified security concerns before Chair Ajit Pai cast his vote.
The debate ran along party lines, with the commission's Republican members voting to unravel the 2015 net neutrality rules and its two Democratic members voting against the measure. In casting the deciding vote, which put the final tally at 3-2 in favor of overturning net neutrality. Pai said, "The sky is not falling, consumers will remain protected."
While internet service companies say consumers won't notice a change, they have also lobbied hard to eliminate net neutrality, arguing that fewer regulations will allow them to innovate and deliver new services. Yet net neutrality has become a rallying cry for consumers regardless of political affiliation, with many expressing fears that the end of net neutrality will dampen free speech, create higher costs for internet users and allow ISPs to control what services they use on the web.
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