The Federal Communications Commission voted to consider a proposed rule to re-establish Obama-era "net neutrality" rules.

The FCC voted 3-2 on Thursday in favor of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would re-establish the Commission's authority to pursue net neutrality, which is the requirement that internet service providers do not discriminate based on the source or destination of data, by classifying providers as common carriers under Title II of the Communications Act, meaning they could be regulated more heavily as if they were telecommunications providers.

"Today, there is no expert agency ensuring the internet is fast, open, and fair," Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said. "For everyone, everywhere, to enjoy the full benefits of the internet age, internet access needs to be more than just accessible and affordable. The internet needs to be open. That is why, for as long as I have served on the FCC, I have supported net neutrality."

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Former FCC Chair Ajit Pai's 2017 reversal of the 2015 net neutrality rules "put the agency on the wrong side of history, the wrong side of the law, and the wrong side of the American public," Rosenworcel argued.

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr slammed the proposed decision as bad regulation in his dissent. "It should be clear by now the FCC's efforts to provide utility-style regulation of the internet is not good policy," Carr stated. "Its proponents keep on layering on new shades of lipstick."

Carr noted the false predictions of dire consequences for the internet that pro-net neutrality advocates made in 2017 after Pai reversed the Obama-era rules.

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The rule will now be open for public comment and is not expected to be implemented until the second half of 2024.

The commission faces a number of obstacles in reinstating net neutrality, including procedural hurdles and prospective litigation. Notably, two former Obama solicitor generals have written that the reclassification of internet service providers would run afoul of the Supreme Court ruling in the recent decision EPA v. West Virginia.