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SXSW: Broadband providers wield wide influence in post-net neutrality world

The internet was developed not by lawyers or policymakers but by engineers agreeing on open standards and accessibility, speakers at a March 11 South by Southwest Conference panel said.

But startup leaders and tech executives worry that dynamic could change as the Federal Communications Commission rolls back its net neutrality rules. These rules, adopted as part of the 2015 Open Internet order, prohibited internet service providers from blocking or throttling legal online traffic or from prioritizing certain content in exchange for payment. In late 2017, the FCC voted to overturn the Open Internet order and eliminate the associated rules.

Like many digital ecosystems, the internet can be seen as a stack of technologies working in tandem. While user-facing websites and applications sit at the top of the stack, file compression and data delivery services are wedged in the middle, and information storage is on the bottom.

"I don't think a lot of people realize the internet has been designed where each layer of the stack depends on each other," said Heather West, senior policy manager at Mozilla, the operator of the Firefox internet browser and a global open-internet advocate. If companies decide to interfere with any one piece of the stack, they could stifle innovation and free competition across the entire system, she warned.

The fear is that as internet service providers gain more latitude in the wake of the FCC rule change, they could potentially disintermediate the stack by giving priority to deep-pocketed user-facing services, or by meddling in compression and storage companies.

Stefan Lederer, founder and CEO of Bitmovin, illustrated this point. Video accounts for about 70% of traffic over the internet, he said. His video data compression company helps reduce the file size of that traffic, supporting a wide range of entertainment and enterprise streaming services by making videos more accessible and efficient. However, without net neutrality protections, Lederer worries that ISPs could block Bitmovin's technology and stifle innovation, he said.

"An ISP could crush us," he said.

In defending the FCC's vote, commission Chairman Ajit Pai has said "accusations that the plan will 'end the internet as we know it' or threaten American democracy itself" are "silly" and "outlandish." In a December 2017 editorial for The Washington Times, Pai noted that in overturning the Open Internet order, the FCC was seeking to "restore the successful, light-touch regulatory framework that governed the internet from 1996 to 2015."

The FCC's order repealing the net neutrality rules is generally set to become effective April 23, though the order is already facing several legal challenges.