The Federal Communications Commission will release a proposal soon to reinstate its Open Internet rules in a new form, after a federal court struck down the current incarnation of the FCC's net neutrality-friendly rules. But recent reports have leaked, stating that the new rules will not enshrine certain net neutrality principals, leading tech watchers and advocacy groups, including the National Hispanic Media Coalition, to preemptively condemn the changes.

The FCC's proposed new Open Internet rules would take the place of agency's 2010 "Open Internet" rules -- in essence struck down in Jan. by a U.S. Court of Appeals -- which prevented internet service prividers (ISPs) from discriminating against internet traffic, favoring some sites and services over others, and acting without transparency. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has promised to resurrect the Open Internet in a net neutrality-friendly way, but it appears that's not exactly accurate, if recent reports are correct.

The FCC's New Rules and Net Neutrality

The new proposed rules, first leaked to the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post, would still require transparency and bar ISPs from blocking any legal internet content or services, but appears to loosen, if not completely unravel, the net neutrality principal of "all traffic should be equal." Instead, it looks as though the FCC will allow ISPs to give preferential treatment -- often referred to as a paid "fast lane" by net neutrality advocates -- to some sites and services that pay extra.

This would basically overturn one major tenet of net neutrality. As we previously reported, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler responded to the leaks saying that there was no "turnaround in policy" planned, and said that ISPs would need to act in a "commercially reasonable manner" with regard to the speed-up deals it made with content providers. That would mean no preferential treatment of affiliated services in deals (think Comcast/NBCUniversal with Hulu, which it owns), and a "high bar" for what is "commercially reasonable." Wheeler also stated that such "fast lane" deals would be "subject to review" by the agency, "on a case-by-case basis."

National Hispanic Media Coalition Responds

The National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC), a media advocacy organization for the advancement of Latinos in media that also works towards the universal, affordable, and open access to communications has closely followed the net neutrality drama over the past months.

On hearing the leaked reports of the FCC's possible new Open Internet proposals, Executive Vice President and General Counsel of the NHMC Jessica J. Gonzalez responded with consternation. "If published reports are accurate, we may be on the cusp of a new era of the Internet, ruled by powerful gatekeepers and manipulated to the detriment of the millions of voices that, to this point, have made the Internet the democratizing force that it is today."

Going on to address the specific idea of "fast lanes," Gonzalez wrote, "NHMC has long-opposed paid Internet fastlanes because they would be out of reach for non-profits, independent creators and small businesses who have thrived under fair rules of the road. There are countless stories of Latinos and other people of color -- who have long-faced marginalization from and discrimination in the traditional media system -- using the Internet to organize, produce news and entertainment content, and make a living. Allowing large corporations to pay more for better access to Internet users by definition creates a system devoid of equity."

The NHMC has called for those concerned to join them in a call for the FCC to act in a way that's consistent with net neutrality. "Everyone who uses the Internet should be incredibly concerned with this course of action and should raise their voices to encourage the FCC to change course."