Amid protests, the Federal Communications Commission voted along party lines Thursday to begin the process of formally setting new net neutrality rules for online traffic that would allow broadband providers to charge companies for faster delivery of their content. 
 
 The 3-2 vote was a victory for FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, who is pushing the plan after a federal court in January tossed out the agency’s previous rules. 
 
 A Democrat who took over in November, Wheeler triggered outrage among public interest groups, online activists and many liberals with a plan that would for the first time allow the possibility of so-called pay-for-priority deals. 
 
 Wheeler said his plan has been misconstrued and that it would not allow broadband providers to block any legal content or slow down connections in a way that is commercially unreasonable. 
 
 “Personally, I don’t like the idea that the Internet can be divided into haves and have-nots and I will work to see that doesn’t happen,” Wheeler said. 
 
 His plan also would create an ombudsperson to act as a watchdog for consumers and entrepreneurs. 
 
 The feedback up until now has been nothing short of astounding but the real call to action begins after this vote is taken. — FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn 
 
 “I will not allow the asset of an open Internet to be compromised,” Wheeler said. 
 
 He and other FCC officials stressed that Wednesday’s vote only started a formal, four-month public comment period and no rules were adopted. 
 
 “The feedback up until now has been nothing short of astounding but the real call to action begins after this vote is taken,” said Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, who supports tougher rules on broadband providers. 
 
 Wheeler made some changes to his proposal this week to secure the votes of Clyburn and Jessica Rosenworcel, the commission’s other two Democrats. 
 
 They both publicly thanked him for the changes, which included asking whether pay-for-priority deals should be banned outright and if the FCC should subject broadband providers to stricter utility-like regulations. 
 
 Still, Rosenworcel criticized the process as rushed. 
 
 She had called last week for a one-month delay in Wednesday’s vote in response to the sharp public outcry in recent weeks to Wheeler’s proposal, which critics have said would allow broadband providers to create paid fast lanes on the Internet. 
 
 “We cannot have a two-tiered Internet, with fast lanes that speed the traffic of the privileged and leave the rest of us lagging behind,” Rosenworcel said. 
 
 “So I support network neutrality. But I believe the process that got us to this rule-making today is flawed. I would have preferred a delay. I think we moved too fast to be fair.” 
 
 Dozens of protesters gathered outside the FCC’s headquarters Thursday morning and three had to be removed from the meeting after jumping up at the start and loudly telling commissioners they needed to protect the Internet. 
 
 “You’re trying to destroy 1st Amendment rights to free speech and free press,” one protester said before being escorted out by security. 
 
 The cornerstone of net neutrality, a decade-old concept that counts President Obama among its earliest political backers, is that all legal Internet content should be treated equally. 
 
 Net neutrality supporters argue that allowing broadband providers such as AT&T, Comcast and Verizon to set up high-speed toll lanes on the Internet will lead to higher prices for consumers and endanger free speech. 
 
 "I think net neutrality is vital to preserving the Internet as we know it and preserving the free speech we have on it," said Morgan LaRocca, 29, of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., who was among dozens of protestors who gathered outside the FCC’s headquarters Wednesday to urge that it not abandon net neutrality. 
 
 The process would involve soliciting public comment, with a goal of passing new rules by the end of the year. 
 
 LaRocca and other protesters oppose Wheeler's plan to allow so-called pay-for-priority arrangements. They want the FCC to subject Internet service providers to tougher, utility-like regulation, similar to phone companies, so they would not be able to set up high-speed online toll lanes. 
 
 Groups such as Fight for the Future, Demand Progress and Free Press have organized protests and petition drives pushing the FCC to abandon Wheeler's proposal and authorize tougher regulation of broadband providers. 
 
 In response to the backlash, Wheeler revised his proposal this week, specifically asking for public feedback on whether pay-for-priority deals should be banned and if the FCC should reclassify broadband providers for stricter regulation under Title 2 of the nation’s telecommunications law. 
 
 The chief executives of many of those providers, including AT&T, Comcast and Verizon, wrote to Wheeler this week warning against the tougher common-carrier regulations. They said those rules "would impose great costs, allowing unprecedented government micromanagement of all aspects of the Internet economy." 
 
 Most Republicans also oppose such a move, including the FCC's two GOP commissioners, Ajit Pai and Michael O’Rielly. The voted against the proposal Thursday. 
 
 “Every American who cares about the future of the Internet should be wary about five unelected officials deciding its fate,” Pai said. He wanted the FCC to turn to Congress for guidance after the agency twice before has crafted rules that were tossed out by federal judges. 
 
 “Getting the future of the Internet right is more important than getting this done right now,” Pai said. 
 
 Protesters worry that if broadband providers are allowed to charge for faster content delivery, it would squelch free speech on the Internet for average Americans. 
 
 "If there's a fast lane, corporations are going to be able to pay for that fast lane, which means they're going to be able to speak louder than activist groups," said Nathan White of Demand Progress as he stood outside the FCC's headquarters Wednesday. "It's something we've got to fight. ||||| The Federal Communications Commission today voted to enforce net neutrality rules that prevent Internet providers—including cellular carriers—from blocking or throttling traffic or giving priority to Web services in exchange for payment. 
 
 “This is no more a plan to regulate the Internet than the First Amendment is a plan to regulate free speech.” 
 
 The most controversial part of the FCC's decision reclassifies fixed and mobile broadband as a telecommunications service, with providers to be regulated as common carriers under Title II of the Communications Act. This decision brings Internet service under the same type of regulatory regime faced by wireline telephone service and mobile voice, though the FCC is forbearing from stricter utility-style rules that it could also apply under Title II. 
 
 The decision comes after a year of intense public interest, with the FCC receiving four million public comments from companies, trade associations, advocacy groups, and individuals. President Obama weighed in as well, asking the FCC to adopt the rules using Title II as the legal underpinning. The vote was 3-2, with Democrats voting in favor and Republicans against. 
 
 Chairman Tom Wheeler said that broadband providers have the technical ability and financial incentive to impose restrictions on the Internet. Wheeler said further: 
 
 The Internet is the most powerful and pervasive platform on the planet. It is simply too important to be left without rules and without a referee on the field. Think about it. The Internet has replaced the functions of the telephone and the post office. The Internet has redefined commerce, and as the outpouring from four million Americans has demonstrated, the Internet is the ultimate vehicle for free expression. The Internet is simply too important to allow broadband providers to be the ones making the rules. This proposal has been described by one opponent as "a secret plan to regulate the Internet." Nonsense. This is no more a plan to regulate the Internet than the First Amendment is a plan to regulate free speech. They both stand for the same concepts: openness, expression, and an absence of gate keepers telling people what they can do, where they can go, and what they can think. 
 
 Wheeler also said putting rules in place will give network operators the certainty they need to keep investing. 
 
 In May 2014, the Wheeler-led commission proposed rules that relied on weaker authority and did not ban paid fast lanes. Wheeler eventually changed his mind, leading to today's vote. 
 
 Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, the longest-tenured commissioner and someone who supported Title II five years ago, said the net neutrality order does not address only theoretical harms. 
 
 "This is more than a theoretical exercise," she said. "Providers here in the United States have, in fact, blocked applications on mobile devices, which not only hampers free expression, it also restricts innovation by allowing companies, not the consumer, to pick winners and losers." 
 
 Clyburn convinced Chairman Tom Wheeler to remove language that she believed was problematic. 
 
 “We worked closely with the chairman's office to strike an appropriate balance and, yes, it is true that significant changes were made at my office's request, including the elimination of the sender side classification, but I firmly believe that these edits have strengthened this item," she said. 
 
 Clyburn, Google, and consumer advocacy groups told Wheeler that language classifying a business relationship between ISPs and Web services as a common carrier service could give ISPs grounds to charge online content providers for access to their networks. This language was removed, but service that ISPs offer to home and business Internet users was still reclassified as a common carrier service. FCC officials believe this classification alone gives them power to enforce net neutrality rules and oversee network interconnection disputes that affect consumers. Further Reading Wireless net neutrality puts Verizon and rivals on equal footing 
 
 Internet service providers such as Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon lobbied heavily against the Title II decision and could sue to overturn the rules. But Wheeler believes Title II puts the FCC on stronger legal ground. The FCC previously passed net neutrality rules in 2010, relying on some of its weaker authority, but the rules were largely overturned after a Verizon lawsuit. 
 
 By winning that case, Verizon inadvertently opened itself and all other Internet providers up to even stricter rules. The new rules go beyond the net neutrality rules passed in 2010. And this time around, the FCC is applying the rules equally to fixed and mobile broadband, whereas its 2010 rules went easier on Verizon's wireless subsidiary and other cellular companies. 
 
 The core net neutrality provisions are bans on blocking and throttling traffic, a ban on paid prioritization, and a requirement to disclose network management practices. Broadband providers will not be allowed to block or degrade access to legal content, applications, services, and non-harmful devices or favor some traffic over others in exchange for payment. There are exceptions for "reasonable network management" and certain data services that don't use the "public Internet." Those include heart monitoring services and the Voice over Internet Protocol services offered by home Internet providers. 
 
 The reasonable network management exception applies to blocking and throttling but not paid prioritization. 
 
 There are additional Title II requirements that go beyond previous net neutrality rules. There are provisions to investigate consumer complaints, privacy rules, and protections for people with disabilities. Content providers and network operators who connect to ISPs' networks can complain to the FCC about "unjust and unreasonable" interconnection rates and practices. There are also rules guaranteeing ISPs access to poles and other infrastructure controlled by utilities, potentially making it easier to enter new markets. (Republican commissioner Ajit Pai argued that the new rules will actually make cable companies and new providers like Google Fiber pay higher fees for access to utility poles.) Further Reading Making the Internet a utility—what’s the worst that could happen? 
 
 There is also a "general conduct" standard designed to judge whether future activity not contemplated by the order harms end users or online content providers. 
 
 The FCC could have tried to use Title II to require last-mile unbundling, in which Internet providers would have to sell wholesale access to their networks. This would allow new competitors to enter local markets without having to build their own infrastructure. But the FCC decided not to impose unbundling. As such, the vote does little to boost Internet service competition in cities or towns. But it's an attempt to prevent incumbent ISPs from using their market dominance to harm online providers, including those who offer services that compete against the broadband providers' voice and video products. 
 
 What’s next: Lawsuits and Congressional intervention 
 
 Opponents claim the order will bring new taxes and fees on broadband consumers and onerous procedural requirements for providers. But Wheeler says the order will not authorize any new taxes or fees or impose any "burdensome administrative filing requirements or accounting standards." 
 
 Broadband providers claim the rules amount to rate regulation because consumers could bring complaints about their bills to the commission, and the FCC could decide that a particular price is unreasonable. But the FCC would not determine any pricing in advance of specific complaints. Even without Title II, the FCC has authority under Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act to impose price caps on broadband, but it hasn't done so. Further Reading Don’t call them “utility” rules: The FCC’s net neutrality regime, explained 
 
 “The order retains core authority to prevent unjust and unreasonable practices, protect consumers, and support universal service,” Melissa Kirkel, an FCC attorney advisor, told commissioners. “The order makes clear that broadband providers will not be subject to utility-style regulation. This means no unbundling, tariffs, or other forms of rate regulation, and the order does not require broadband providers to contribute to the Universal Service Fund, nor does it impose, suggest, or authorize any new taxes or fees.” 
 
 Today's order could face both legal challenges and action from Congress. Republicans have proposed legislation that would eliminate Title II restrictions for broadband providers and vowed that the FCC vote is just the beginning of the debate. 
 
 Although many ISPs publicly oppose the new rules, the industry is by no means united against the FCC. Sprint and T-Mobile US have each said the FCC's proposal would not hurt their business. And while a good number of small broadband providers oppose the imposition of Title II rules, others support Wheeler. The NTCA Rural Broadband Association, which represents rural ISPs, said yesterday that it supports applying Title II to broadband networks. 
 
 Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, spoke to the commission via video. He credited the openness of the Internet with allowing him to create the Web 25 years ago without having to ask "permission." 
 
 Republican Commissioner Michael O'Rielly dissented, accusing Wheeler of bowing to Obama's wishes. O'Rielly's written statement said: 
 
 Let me start by issuing apologies. First, I am just sick about what Chairman Wheeler was forced to go through during this process. It was disgraceful to have the Administration overtake the commission’s rulemaking process and dictate an outcome for pure political purposes. It is so disturbing to know that those efforts were about illegitimately pushing a larger political cause mostly unrelated to technology. This administration went so far beyond what has ever been attempted, and its inappropriate interference in the commission’s activities will forever change this institution. Additionally, I am sorry to the staff members that were forced to prepare a half-baked, illogical, internally inconsistent, and indefensible document. For an institution that prides itself on quality of work and legal and technical expertise, this document is anything but. I guess that an artificial deadline to meet the radical protestors’ demands means that it is more likely that this item gets overturned by the courts because the work and thoughtful analysis needed to actually defend this completely flawed agenda is not included in the text. Today, a majority of the commission attempts to usurp the authority of Congress by re-writing the Communications Act to suit its own “values” and political ends. 
 
 O'Rielly did not recite the first two paragraphs while reading his statement during the meeting. 
 
 Some entrepreneurs spoke in front of the commission. Veena Sud, a writer, director, and producer who developed the TV show The Killing, said the show "survived two near deaths" because of the Open Internet. "When AMC canceled us yet again, Netflix took over the show in its entirety and we were able to end the series as it was intended, all because the Internet was opened up to competition and widened the playing field." 
 
 FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said, "We cannot have a two-tiered Internet with fast lanes that speed the traffic of the privileged and leave the rest of us lagging behind. We cannot have gatekeepers who tell us what we can and cannot do and where we can and cannot go online, and we do not need blocking, throttling, or paid prioritization schemes that undermine the Internet as we know it." 
 
 Pai said the FCC is replacing Internet freedom with "government control." The FCC is seizing unilateral authority to regulate Internet conduct and determine what service plans are available to consumers, he said. 
 
 "The Internet is not broken. There is no problem for the government to solve," he said. 
 
 Pai claimed that an Internet provider could "find itself in the FCC's crosshairs" if it doesn't want to offer unlimited data plans. The FCC's order does not actually ban data caps; instead, the FCC is claiming authority to intervene when companies use data caps to harm competitors or customers. 
 
 Pai said the FCC is only deferring a decision on new Universal Service fees for broadband rather than ruling them out entirely. Universal Service fees, which fund telecommunications projects in rural and under-served regions, currently apply to phone bills but not Internet service. 
 
 The full net neutrality order has not been published yet. The FCC's majority is required to include the Republicans' dissents in the order and "be responsive to those dissents," Wheeler said. The order will go on the FCC's website after that process. The rules will go into effect 60 days after publication in the Federal Register, with one small exception. Enhancements to the transparency rule must undergo an additional review by the Office of Management and Budget to comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act. ||||| The Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Tom Wheeler, laid out several new proposals for network neutrality rules in a statement on Tuesday, also saying that the agency won’t appeal a court decision that struck down the FCC’s previous attempt at rule-making. 
 
 The statement, which comes amid reports that internet providers are slowing sites like Netflix(s nflx), also said the FCC would explore ways to stop improper “blocking” and “discrimination.” 
 
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 The decision to forgo an appeal is not surprising since the appeals court ruling was considered to be legally sound; in the decision, the DC Appeals Court pointed that the FCC had failed to invoke the proper legal authority when it applied the so-called “Open Internet Authority” to broadband providers. 
 
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 Now, owing to its bungling of the earlier process, the agency is now tasked with putting the net neutrality genie back in the bottle. Wheeler signaled his intent to do so at several parts of the statement (emphasis mine): 
 
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 I intend to accept that invitation by proposing rules that will meet the court’s test for preventing improper blocking of and discrimination among Internet traffic […] Thus, we will consider (1) setting an enforceable legal standard that provides guidance and predictability to edge providers, consumers, and broadband providers alike; (2) evaluating on a case-by-case basis whether that standard is met; and (3) identifying key behaviors by broadband providers that the Commission would view with particular skepticism. 
 
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 Wheeler also stated that he had recently met with video start-ups, and said they will be unable to succeed if they are “unfairly prevented from harnessing the full power of the Internet.” He said this type of situation is why the FCC’s “exercise of its authority to protect an open Internet is important.” 
 
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 Wheeler’s words, however, are unlikely to prevent much comfort to those alarmed by the specter of internet giants favoring certain websites over others, or forcing sites like Netflix and Google to pay extra to guarantee fast delivery speeds. This is because the rule-making process is slow and convoluted, and most broadband providers will be free to do what they like in the meantime. 
 
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 As for the rules themselves, the Wheeler statement is short on specifics; it proposes “transparency” and a pledge to prevent “blocking” but does not espouse a general principle, favored by net neutrality advocates, of treating all internet traffic the same. 
 
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 One source of consolation for net neutrality proponents is that Comcast(s cmcsa), one of the most powerful broadband providers in the country, must abide by an order that requires it to respect net neutrality rules under 2018 as a result of its acquisition of content giant NBCUniversal. 
 
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 An industry group, the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, appeared please with Wheeler’s move, issuing a statement: 
 
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 “We look forward to working with Chairman Wheeler and the Commission on ensuring that American consumers will continue to enjoy a fast, robust and open Internet experience. We continue to believe that the values of an open Internet can be preserved, while avoiding a damaging move to heavier regulation.” 
 
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 Gabe Rottman of the ACLU suggested in a statement that the FCC may be able reassert its earlier authority: “Crucially, the commission kept open the option of reclassification, and it needs to take resolute action beyond today’s announcement to ensure that option becomes a reality.” 
 
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 This story was updated several times to provide details of the Wheeler order and responses. ||||| Photo 
 
 WASHINGTON — The principle that all Internet content should be treated equally as it flows through cables and pipes to consumers looks all but dead. 
 
 The Federal Communications Commission said on Wednesday that it would propose new rules that allow companies like Disney, Google or Netflix to pay Internet service providers like Comcast and Verizon for special, faster lanes to send video and other content to their customers. 
 
 The proposed changes would affect what is known as net neutrality — the idea that no providers of legal Internet content should face discrimination in providing offerings to consumers, and that users should have equal access to see any legal content they choose. 
 
 The proposal comes three months after a federal appeals court struck down, for the second time, agency rules intended to guarantee a free and open Internet. 
 
 Tom Wheeler, the F.C.C. chairman, defended the agency’s plans late Wednesday, saying speculation that the F.C.C. was “gutting the open Internet rule” is “flat out wrong.” Rather, he said, the new rules will provide for net neutrality along the lines of the appeals court’s decision. 
 
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 Still, the regulations could radically reshape how Internet content is delivered to consumers. For example, if a gaming company cannot afford the fast track to players, customers could lose interest and its product could fail. 
 
 The rules are also likely to eventually raise prices as the likes of Disney and Netflix pass on to customers whatever they pay for the speedier lanes, which are the digital equivalent of an uncongested car pool lane on a busy freeway. 
 
 Consumer groups immediately attacked the proposal, saying that not only would costs rise, but also that big, rich companies with the money to pay large fees to Internet service providers would be favored over small start-ups with innovative business models — stifling the birth of the next Facebook or Twitter. 
 
 “If it goes forward, this capitulation will represent Washington at its worst,” said Todd O’Boyle, program director of Common Cause’s Media and Democracy Reform Initiative. “Americans were promised, and deserve, an Internet that is free of toll roads, fast lanes and censorship — corporate or governmental.” 
 
 If the new rules deliver anything less, he added, “that would be a betrayal.” 
 
 Mr. Wheeler rebuffed such criticism. “There is no ‘turnaround in policy,’ ” he said in a statement. “The same rules will apply to all Internet content. As with the original open Internet rules, and consistent with the court’s decision, behavior that harms consumers or competition will not be permitted.” 
 
 Broadband companies have pushed for the right to build special lanes. Verizon said during appeals court arguments that if it could make those kinds of deals, it would. 
 
 Under the proposal, broadband providers would have to disclose how they treat all Internet traffic and on what terms they offer more rapid lanes, and would be required to act “in a commercially reasonable manner,” agency officials said. That standard would be fleshed out as the agency seeks public comment. 
 
 The proposed rules would also require Internet service providers to disclose whether in assigning faster lanes, they have favored their affiliated companies that provide content. That could have significant implications for Comcast, the nation’s largest provider of high-speed Internet service, because it owns NBCUniversal. 
 
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 Also, Comcast is asking for government permission to take over Time Warner Cable, the third-largest broadband provider, and opponents of the merger say that expanding its reach as a broadband company will give Comcast more incentive to favor its own content over that of unaffiliated programmers. 
 
 Mr. Wheeler has signaled for months that the federal appeals court decision striking down the earlier rules could force the commission to loosen its definitions of what constitutes an open Internet. 
 
 Those earlier rules effectively barred Internet service providers from making deals with services like Amazon or Netflix to allow those companies to pay to stream their products to viewers through a faster, express lane on the web. The court said that because the Internet is not considered a utility under federal law, it was not subject to that sort of regulation. 
 
 Opponents of the new proposed rules said they appeared to be full of holes, particularly in seeking to impose the “commercially reasonable” standard. 
 
 “The very essence of a ‘commercial reasonableness’ standard is discrimination,” Michael Weinberg, a vice president at Public Knowledge, a consumer advocacy group, said in a statement. “And the core of net neutrality is nondiscrimination.” 
 
 Mr. Weinberg added that the commission and courts had acknowledged that it could be commercially reasonable for a broadband provider to charge a content company higher rates for access to consumers because that company’s service was competitively threatening. 
 
 “This standard allows Internet service providers to impose a new price of entry for innovation on the Internet,” he said. 
 
 Consumers can pay Internet service providers for a higher-speed Internet connection. But whatever speed they choose, under the new rules, they might get some content faster, depending on what the content provider has paid for. 
 
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 The fight over net neutrality has gone on for at least a decade, and is likely to continue at least until the F.C.C. settles on new rules. Each of the last two times the agency has written rules, one of the Internet service providers has taken it to court to have the rules invalidated. 
 
 If anything, lobbying over the details of the new net neutrality standard is likely to increase now that the federal court has provided a framework for the F.C.C. to work from as it fills in the specifics of its regulatory authority. 
 
 The proposed rules, drafted by Mr. Wheeler and his staff, will be circulated to the agency’s other four commissioners beginning on Thursday and will be released for public comment on May 15. They are likely to be put to a vote by the full commission by the end of the year. 
 
 News of the F.C.C. proposal was first reported online by The Wall Street Journal.
– The Federal Communications Commission will vote on net neutrality today, after lengthy debate. Though the topic seems destined for the courts, the FCC's decision "is going to be a benchmark," a researcher tells USA Today. The board is expected to approve chairman Tom Wheeler's guidelines to regulate the Internet like a utility, as President Obama suggested. His proposal also labels broadband providers as "common carriers" under Title II of the Telecommunications Act, which means the FCC could prohibit paid prioritization for "fast lanes," NBC News reports. What does that mean for you? "All this ruling means is that there will be FCC jurisdiction to examine practices and hear complaints," a legal professor explains. He bats down claims that this is "an all-or-nothing decision that will transform the Internet," suggesting much is still to be determined. "Your broadband will still cost the same amount as it did before." Essentially Wheeler's rules would mean Internet service providers must treat all traffic equally, which is why Netflix—which claims almost 35% of peak traffic in the US—supports the move. It can't be charged more for the bandwidth it uses. Companies like Etsy, Kickstarter, Tumblr, and Vimeo support rules similar to Wheeler's. In the past, so did Google. But nearly a decade after Google and Facebook first pushed for new rules, the search giant has urged the FCC to draft rules boosting investment in broadband Internet networks, as have net neutrality opponents AT&T and Comcast, the Wall Street Journal reports. An expert predicts the "public utility-style regulations" will "create a tremendous amount of chaos" for cable and Internet companies, particularly when it comes to addressing congestion. They would have to ensure their practices of freeing up bandwidth are "reasonable," NPR reports. The rules also include what's called "zero-rating," which is when an app or group of apps—for example T-Mobile's Music Freedom plan—isn't counted against a user's data cap. Sounds like a bonus, right? "That distorts competition," says one expert. Republicans generally consider Wheeler's rules a government power grab. Congress could respond with legislation that undercuts Wheeler's guidelines, but Obama would likely veto.