Push to repeal net neutrality likely to begin this week

WASHINGTON - Federal regulators are expected to roll back one of the Obama administration's signature internet policies this week, launching a process to repeal the government's net neutrality rules that currently regulate how internet providers may treat websites and their own customers.

The vote on Thursday, led by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, will kick off consideration of a proposal to relax regulations on companies such as Comcast and AT&T.

If approved by the 2-1 Republican-majority commission, it will be a significant step for the broadband industry as it seeks more leeway under government rules to develop new business models. For consumer advocates and tech companies, it will be a setback - those groups argue that looser regulations won't prevent those business models from harming internet users and website owners.

'The question that we at the FCC must answer is what policies will give the American people what they want,” Pai said in a speech on net neutrality last month in Washington. The FCC didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

The current rules force internet providers to behave much like their cousins in the legacy telephone business. Under the FCC's net neutrality policy, providers cannot block or slow down consumers' internet traffic, or charge websites a fee to be displayed on consumers' screens.

The net neutrality rules also empower the FCC to investigate ISP practices that risk harming competition.

Internet providers have chafed at the stricter rules governing phone service, which they say were written for a bygone era.