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It’s Official: the FCC Has Released the Date the Net Neutrality Repeal Will Go Into Effect

The rules were repealed in December, but the formal process wasn’t yet complete.
Image: Gage Skidmore/Flickr

After months of inexplicably dragging its feet, the Federal Communications Commission has finally revealed when its net neutrality repeal will go into effect: June 11.

“Now, on June 11, these unnecessary and harmful Internet regulations will be repealed and the bipartisan, light-touch approach that served the online world well for nearly 20 years will be restored,” Ajit Pai, the chairman of the FCC, said in a press release.

In December, the agency voted 3-2 to adopt an order that rolled back existing internet freedom rules that prohibited ISPs from throttling speeds or blocking online content. But the change hasn’t yet gone into effect because it was dependant on both the FCC publishing the decision in the Federal Register, and the formal approval of the Office of Management and Budget. Many critics felt that Pai was purposely delaying the change, but after the OMB approved the rollback on May 2, the FCC had to act.

Though this means that net neutrality will officially cease to exist in the US in just four weeks, there are currently efforts in Congress and in the courts to fight this decision and restore the 2015 rules, including a push in the Senate that’s expected to go to vote early next week.

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