What Is Net Neutrality
Net neutrality is the principle that your internet provider must treat all lawful traffic the same. It cannot block a website, slow down an app it does not like, or charge a company to put its content in a fast lane. You pay for access to the whole internet, and the provider carries it without picking favorites.
The United States has no federal net neutrality rule today. The rules have been written and struck down by one administration or court after another, and a small number of states now set their own.
Key facts
- Federal rules have been adopted or undone 6 times in 15 years. A federal appeals court ended the latest version on January 2, 2025 (Sixth Circuit).
- 6 states have net neutrality laws. Only California and Washington apply them to every provider.
- A 2019 study caught throttling on 30 networks worldwide. 18 were in the U.S., mostly cell carriers slowing video (SIGCOMM ‘19).
What Net Neutrality Violations Look Like
Violations are rarely a site going dark. More often a connection gets quietly slower, or a provider’s own video stops counting against your data cap while a rival’s still does. The record below is limited to cases confirmed by a regulator, a court filing, or published measurement.
On July 27, 2018, the Mendocino Complex Fire broke out north of San Francisco. Santa Clara County Fire sent an incident support unit, OES 5262, to coordinate resources. Fire Chief Anthony Bowden said Verizon slowed the unit’s data to “1/200, or less, than the previous speeds” in the middle of the response (NBC News). Verizon called it “a customer support mistake” and said the case had nothing to do with net neutrality. The account came out in a brief filed in the court challenge to the 2017 repeal.
Documented cases of blocking, throttling, and favoring traffic
Source: FCC DA 05-543; Comcast v. FCC, 600 F.3d 642; FCC Wireless Bureau sponsored data report (January 9, 2017); NBC News; Li et al., SIGCOMM '19
The AT&T and Verizon case shows why zero-rating is part of the fight. AT&T stopped counting its DirecTV Now video against customers’ data in the fall of 2016, and Verizon did the same for its go90 service (FCC staff report). A rival video service still used up your data. The report carried no penalty, and the 2017 repeal ended the rule it relied on.
How Title I and Title II Decide Net Neutrality
Every federal fight over net neutrality comes down to one label: whether broadband is a “telecommunications service” or an “information service” under the Communications Act. The label decides whether the FCC can treat providers like phone companies, which must carry every call.
| Title II: telecommunications service | Title I: information service | |
|---|---|---|
| What providers are treated like | Common carriers, like phone companies | Lightly regulated tech services |
| Can the FCC ban blocking and throttling? | Yes | No, courts held in 2010 and 2014 |
| When the FCC used it | 2015 and 2024 | Before 2015, and 2018 to 2024 |
| Where it stands | Rejected by the Sixth Circuit in 2025 | The law as that court read it |
Source: Sixth Circuit, In re MCP No. 185 (January 2, 2025), background section.
For years the courts let the FCC pick either label. Under the Chevron doctrine, judges deferred to an agency’s reasonable reading of an unclear law, so both the 2015 rules and their 2017 repeal survived. The Supreme Court overruled Chevron in Loper Bright in June 2024. Six months later, the Sixth Circuit decided the question itself and held that broadband is only an information service. “Applying Loper Bright means we can end the FCC’s vacillations,” the court wrote.
Net Neutrality Rules Since 2005
The rules have changed with nearly every administration. The FCC settled with Madison River in 2005, a court voided the Comcast order in 2010, and the FCC wrote its first rules the same year. A court struck most of them in 2014. The FCC adopted Title II rules in 2015 and repealed them in 2017. California passed its own law in 2018, the FCC restored federal rules in 2024, and a court set them aside in 2025.
- FCC settles with Madison River A $15,000 payment in a consent decree over blocked internet phone calls.
- First rules, after the Comcast loss A court voids the Comcast order. The FCC adopts its first open internet rules.
- Verizon v. FCC A court strikes most of the 2010 rules.
- Title II rules adopted Broadband treated as a common carrier. Upheld in 2016.
- Rules repealed The FCC votes on December 14 to return to Title I.
- California passes SB 822 The strongest state law, in effect since 2019.
- FCC restores the rules Title II again, published May 22. Paused by the court on August 1.
- Sixth Circuit ends them The court sets the 2024 order aside on January 2.
Federal net neutrality rules, on and off since 2005: 2005: FCC settles with Madison River (A $15,000 payment in a consent decree over blocked internet phone calls.). 2010: First rules, after the Comcast loss (A court voids the Comcast order. The FCC adopts its first open internet rules.). 2014: Verizon v. FCC (A court strikes most of the 2010 rules.). 2015: Title II rules adopted (Broadband treated as a common carrier. Upheld in 2016.). 2017: Rules repealed (The FCC votes on December 14 to return to Title I.). 2018: California passes SB 822 (The strongest state law, in effect since 2019.). 2024: FCC restores the rules (Title II again, published May 22. Paused by the court on August 1.). 2025: Sixth Circuit ends them (The court sets the 2024 order aside on January 2.).
2005: The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau closed its investigation of Madison River Communications, a phone company accused of blocking the ports used for internet phone calls. In a consent decree, the company agreed to a $15,000 “voluntary payment” and agreed to stop (FCC).
2010: A federal appeals court voided the FCC’s 2008 order against Comcast for secretly slowing file sharing. The FCC answered with its first open internet rules, written under Title I.
2014: In Verizon v. FCC, the same court struck most of those rules. It held the FCC could impose them only on providers classified under Title II.
2015: The FCC reclassified broadband under Title II and banned blocking, throttling, and paid prioritization. The D.C. Circuit upheld the rules in 2016.
2017: The FCC voted on December 14 to repeal the rules and return broadband to Title I. The repeal took effect in 2018, and the D.C. Circuit upheld it in 2019 while ruling that the FCC could not bar states from writing their own rules.
2018: California enacted SB 822, which took effect January 1, 2019, and Washington, Oregon, and Vermont passed their own laws the same year.
2024: The FCC restored Title II rules in its Safeguarding and Securing the Open Internet Order, published May 22. The Sixth Circuit paused the order on August 1 while the challenge went forward.
2025: The Sixth Circuit set that order aside on January 2 (opinion). The FCC removed the rules from the federal code on August 8, 2025 (Federal Register).
How Much Throttling Happens
The largest study of throttling, by its authors’ account, found it on nearly every major U.S. cell network, and nearly all of it targeted video. Researchers at Northeastern University and UMass Amherst used their Wehe app to run 1,045,413 tests for 126,249 users on 2,735 networks between 2018 and 2019. They found throttling on 30 networks in 7 countries (SIGCOMM ‘19).
60% of the networks caught throttling were in the United States.
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| United States | 18 |
| Canada | 4 |
| United Arab Emirates | 3 |
| United Kingdom | 2 |
| Chile | 1 |
| Germany | 1 |
| Israel | 1 |
Source: Li, Niaki, Choffnes, Gill and Mislove, 'A Large-Scale Analysis of Deployed Traffic Differentiation Practices,' SIGCOMM '19, Table 4. Counts networks, so a provider's cellular and Wi-Fi networks count separately.
Of the 18 U.S. networks, 15 were cellular, including AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint. YouTube was the service slowed most often, in 25 cases, and the most common cap was 1.5 megabits per second, enough for low-resolution video. Many carriers disclosed “video optimized” streaming in their plans, but the researchers found none that said which video services they targeted.
State Net Neutrality Laws
With no federal rule, state law decides whether net neutrality applies to you. The 2019 Mozilla v. FCC ruling left states free to act, and 6 did. Only California and Washington bind every provider in the state. The other 4 reach only providers that take state contracts or grants.
States with net neutrality laws, and who each law reaches
Source: Cal. Civ. Code 3100-3104; RCW 19.385; ORS 276A.418; Colorado SB19-078; 3 V.S.A. 348; Maine LD 1364 (5 MRSA 1541-B)
California’s law goes furthest. It bans zero-rating when a third party pays for it and bars providers from exempting some video services but not others. Internet industry groups sued to block it, and the Ninth Circuit refused on January 28, 2022 (ACA Connects v. Bonta). We list only laws here, not governors’ executive orders, because an order can be withdrawn by the next governor.
The question of whether Washington can override these laws connects to the wider fight over preemption, when a higher level of government blocks a lower one from acting.
Net Neutrality in 2026
The federal fight is over for now, and the pressure has moved to the state laws. The list below shows where each piece stands.
Where net neutrality stands
As of October 14, 2026
- Federal net neutrality rules Ended, set aside Jan. 2, 2025
The Sixth Circuit held broadband is an information service. The FCC removed the rules from the federal code on August 8, 2025. (source)
- An appeal to the Supreme Court Ended
Free Press, which supports the rules, said in August 2025 that it and other public-interest groups would not take the case to the Supreme Court. (source)
- California SB 822 Law, in effect since 2019
The strongest state law. The Ninth Circuit refused to block it in 2022. (source)
- A federal broadband grant condition for California Proposal, no public decision
The Electronic Frontier Foundation reports that the $1.4 billion broadband grant approval announced August 31, 2026 asks California not to enforce laws restricting internet providers for 14 years, which would reach SB 822. The state utilities commission ratified the grant plan on September 17 and let its staff take the steps to carry it out. Its resolution does not mention the condition, and neither the commission's grant page nor the governor's news releases say whether the state accepted it. (source)
- Broadband price labels Agency action, since Sept. 14, 2026
The FCC kept the labels that show a plan's price and speed but cut several of their requirements. (source)
Source: Sixth Circuit; Federal Register; Ninth Circuit; Free Press; Electronic Frontier Foundation; California Public Utilities Commission
The Investment Debate and the Case Against the Rules
Opponents of net neutrality argue that treating providers as utilities discourages them from building networks. The Sixth Circuit called the regime the 2024 order revived “heavy-handed,” and providers argue that rules written for phone monopolies do not fit a competitive market where they must spend to upgrade.
The evidence on investment points both ways, depending on who counts. USTelecom, the industry’s trade group, reported in May 2017 that capital spending by major providers fell from $74 billion in 2014 to $71 billion in 2016, and it tied the drop to Title II (USTelecom). Free Press, which supports the rules, reported ten days later that spending was 5% higher in the two years after the vote. It argued that the industry’s estimates left out billions that AT&T spent on DirecTV and that Sprint spent on equipment it leased to customers, and noted that no publicly traded provider told investors Title II hurt its spending (Free Press).
Neither number isolates the rules from everything else that moves investment, such as a finished buildout or a merger. USTelecom put the drop at $2.5 billion to $3 billion, and what caused it is the part in dispute.
Did the U.S. get rid of net neutrality?
At the federal level, yes. The Sixth Circuit paused the FCC’s 2024 rules on August 1, 2024, and set them aside on January 2, 2025, so no federal rule requires providers to treat traffic equally. California and Washington still require it of every provider in their states, and four more states require it of providers paid with state money.
Is zero-rating a net neutrality violation?
It depends on the rule. Zero-rating means some content does not count against your data cap. California bans it when a third party pays for it or when a provider exempts some services in a category but not others. The 2015 federal rules judged it case by case.
Does net neutrality apply to cell phone data?
Under California’s law, yes. At the federal level, the Sixth Circuit also held in 2025 that mobile broadband cannot be regulated as a common carrier service, so no federal rule applies to phones.
What You Can Do
If you think your provider is slowing you down
Start with the situation closest to yours.
Video or a particular app is slow, but other sites are fine
- Run the free Wehe app from Northeastern University. It tests whether your network treats specific services differently.
- Check your plan's broadband label and terms for "video optimized" or reduced-resolution streaming. Many throttling practices are disclosed there.
Your service is slower than what you pay for
- Compare your speed to the typical speed on your plan's broadband label.
- File a complaint with the FCC Consumer Complaint Center. If the FCC sends it to your provider, the provider must respond within 30 days.
You live in California or Washington
- State law bars blocking and throttling by every provider. Report a violation to your state attorney general's consumer protection office.
- Test your connection. Run Wehe on your phone and home network, and keep the results. Measurement is how the 2019 throttling came to light.
- Read your broadband label. Providers must show price, speeds, and data allowances before you buy. Compare plans on it.
- File a complaint when something is wrong. When the FCC forwards a complaint to the provider, the provider must answer in writing within 30 days.
- If you live in California, contact the governor’s office about the broadband grant condition. Ask whether the state will keep enforcing SB 822.
- Ask Congress to write net neutrality into law. A statute would end the flip-flopping, because courts could not read it away. Our guide to writing your members of Congress shows how.