The Effects of the FCC Net Neutrality Repeal on Security and Privacy

The repeal of net neutrality has caused a great public outcry from academic down to the end-users. Net neutrality was an FCC order that specified the principles for Internet Service Providers. The most prevalent principles were related to bandwidth throttling, preferential treatments, and privacy. Some described the action of the FCC will lead to the end of the Internet and consumer privacy. There have been many articles discussing about the fallout of the ruling, but it is difficult filtering fact from fiction. In this article, the authors discuss the nature of net neutrality, the history, the arguments for and against, and the roles of the FCC and their many orders. They also layout the implication of repeal on security and privacy. They present a few scenarios specifying what an ISP can do and cannot do. Finally, the authors specify what laws the consumers have left for their privacy.