• Congress (via the Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C.) • Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

• 2017 Restoring Internet Freedom Order (FCC GN Docket No. 17-108) — the Order that reclassified broadband under Title I and repealed the 2015 Title II net-neutrality rules. • 47 C.F.R. Part 8 (2015 “Preserving the Open Internet” Title II rules) — vacated, but leave rescission language to clear the rule-slot before codifying new statutory net-neutrality.

“Restoring Internet Freedom Repeal Act”

The 2017 Order dismantled enforceable net-neutrality guarantees and stripped the FCC of authority to prevent ISPs from blocking, throttling, or prioritizing content. Journalists and independent publishers now face a patchwork of state laws, with no federal floor to guard free speech online. Rescinding the 2017 Order clears the path to codify strong, uniform net-neutrality and press-freedom protections in statute—ensuring ISPs cannot censor or disadvantage journalistic content.

U.S. House Energy & Commerce Committee 2125 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee 512 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510

(202) 225-3641

• The 2015 Open Internet Order (Title II classification) gave the FCC clear authority to enforce net neutrality, but was repealed by the 2017 Order, which reclassified broadband under Title I “information service.” • Without net-neutrality safeguards, ISPs can—and in some cases do—degrade or block traffic, threatening the ability of journalists, small outlets, and whistleblowers to reach audiences.

• 2017 Order: Striking it restores the FCC’s ability to enforce no-blocking, no-throttling, and no-paid-prioritization rules. • Part 8 vacatur: Clears the regulatory slate so that Congress’s new statutory net-neutrality standards can be slotted into the Code.

— The 2017 Order is vacated in its entirety; broadband returns to the status-quo ante of enforceable Title II obligations. — 47 C.F.R. Part 8 (2015 Open Internet rules) remains in the CFR but without force—subsequent FCC rulemaking will either repeal or amend the citations to implement the new statute. Statutory Enactment (companion to the rescission): Add a new Section 624 to 47 U.S.C. (“Net Neutrality and Press Freedom”) providing: 1. No Blocking: ISPs may not block lawful content, applications, or services, including news and journalistic sites. 2. No Throttling: ISPs may not degrade or slow traffic based on content, user, platform, or application. 3. No Paid Prioritization: ISPs may not charge for or implement “fast lanes” that favor some content over others. 4. Transparency: ISPs must publicly disclose network management practices, performance metrics, and commercial terms. 5. Press‐Freedom Safe Harbor: Any entity that (i) publishes news or investigative reporting, (ii) adheres to standard journalistic ethics, and (iii) does not pay for prioritization shall be immune from any ISP-imposed data-cap or prioritization fee. 6. Enforcement: FTC is empowered to bring unfair-practices actions under Section 5; FCC retains ancillary authority to issue injunctive remedies.

Brendan Carr

FCC Commissioner