US House commerce committee postpones net neutrality meeting

The House Energy and Commerce Committee will delay its hearing on net neutrality that was scheduled for 7 September, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter who spoke to The Hill yesterday.

The hearing was intended to be used by Republicans in the committee to discuss potential solutions for legislative net neutrality.

Policies on the rules have currently been left to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which approved regulations on the matter in 2014.

Meanwhile FCC chairman Ajit Pai is moving ahead with a proposal to scrap the rules framed by the Obama administration.

''INCOMPAS and Internet Association appreciate the time and effort that Chairman Walden and his staff have dedicated to resolving Open Internet issues,'' the two pro-net neutrality technology trade groups said in a statement on Wednesday.

''This issue is complicated and the best thing for the economy and all stakeholders is to have lasting rules. We share the goal of enshrining net neutrality, and very much look forward to continuing our close work with all interested parties in accomplishing that objective.''

Meanwhile, Wednesday was the last day for the public to file comments with the US Federal Communications Commission on its plan to dismantle the net neutrality protections instituted by the previous Obama administration.

Since Donald Trump-appointed FCC chairman Ajit Pai announced his '' Restoring Internet Freedom '' plan, the topic has been widely debated in the media, public and among policy makers. Through Wednesday morning, the FCC has received 22.8 million comments on the proposal, with 8.5 million writing in over the last 30 days alone.

What Pai's ''Restoring Internet Freedom'' proposal sets out to do is to scrap net neutrality, one of the fundamental ideas that allows for a free and open internet. The idea that all data on the internet should get the same treatment, is the cornerstone of net neutrality.

Three tenets or rules underpin the concept of net neutrality, namely - internet service providers cannot block access to any content, throttle or slow a connection, or offer paid prioritisation to companies or services who are willing to pay for preferential treatment.