The Public Internet Option

In this report, the ACLU calls on local governments to pursue providing broadband to residents to help counteract federal rollbacks of net neutrality and internet privacy protections.

In December 2017, the Federal Communications Commission voted to revoke net neutrality, opening the door for telecom companies to give priority to internet traffic they favor and slow down or block other content. In April 2017, President Trump signed a bill to overturn FCC internet privacy rules, allowing telecom companies to collect and sell their customers’ private online usage information.

This report shows how despite these changes, municipal governments still have the option of providing broadband service themselves and implementing the net neutrality and privacy protections that are no longer required of private companies by federal policies.