Net neutrality, right of repair, broadband: Biden’s order explained


President Joe Biden issued an executive order on Friday that encourages government agencies to begin enacting reforms across the tech spectrum, including recreating net neutrality, enforcing broadband competition, enacting laws on the “right to redress”, and more.

According to a fact sheet released by the White House, several aspects of the ordinance will directly affect consumers and the way they use technology. Below, we have summarized the decree and listed how its content can affect the daily lives of consumers.

It should be noted, however, that the order simply “directs” or “encourages” federal agencies to begin promulgating rules, thus avoiding a direct order. Commissioners on the Federal Trade Commission, for example, are appointed by the president, but must be confirmed and act independently. The executive order simply makes the wishes of the president clearer.

Here is how the provisions of the decree could affect you:

Net neutrality and lower broadband prices

Biden’s executive order lists four big issues that cover broadband, but the headliner is net neutrality. Large ISPs can use their power to slow down online services, the order’s fact sheet notes. The net neutrality movement reached its peak in 2015 when the FCC voted to reclassify broadband as a Title II public service. The Trump administration, led by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, has worked to overturn those rules.

“In the Order, the president encourages the FCC to reinstate the Net neutrality rules canceled by the previous administration,” the information sheet said.

Lack of competition between broadband ISPs in apartments

If you live in an apartment, your landlord usually decides which ISP you will use. More than 200 million Americans already live in neighborhoods that only have access to one or two ISPs, the administration says. The order apparently avoids imposing more competition in various markets, but would encourage the FCC to prevent ISPs from making deals with landlords that limit tenant choices. Competition would allow the consumer to choose, both in terms of service and price.

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While homeowners can choose from the broadband services offered by ISPs in their area, apartment dwellers may not be so lucky.

Clarity on broadband charges

Broadband ISPs can advertise a price, but you will rarely pay it. Instead, they add various charges that show up on your bill. The Obama administration implemented a “broadband nutrition label” that attempted to explain and break down these charges. The FCC is encouraged to bring this back, the order says. It might not lower your bill, but it could act as an incentive for ISPs to lower fees and encourage more price competition.

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The Obama administration attempted to implement a “broadband nutrition label,” according to the White House, but the effort was later called off.

Right of repair, including mobile phones

High-profile efforts by manufacturers of tractors and other farm equipment to limit farmers’ ability to repair their own tractors may dominate the news, but the right to repair also covers tech products, including laptops and phones. portable. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act has made it illegal to circumvent locks or other restrictions that a manufacturer has placed on a device, although Section 1201 of the bill includes the right to seek exemptions, such as unlocking devices. mobile phones.

The decree specifically names the cell phone manufacturers and repair shops covered by the decree. The order “encourages the FTC to enact rules against anti-competitive restrictions on the use of independent repair shops or DIY repairs to your own devices and equipment.” This would free you up to do your own repairs and theoretically give repair shops more leeway, although this is unclear.

Big Tech: Your data, their mergers

The Biden order is also taking a big hit at Big Tech, especially the “big platforms” that aren’t specifically named (like Google or Facebook). The order would encourage the FTC to “establish rules on monitoring and data accumulation,” although the effect this would have on the accumulation of data collected by Facebook, Microsoft, Google and others is uncertain.

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The Biden administration is seeking to further limit the data that can be collected by companies like Facebook.

The Biden administration’s order also calls for a “closer examination of mergers,” presumably ones like Facebook or WhatsApp’s acquisition of Instagram to expand its reach. The administration will take a closer look at mergers, “particularly by dominant Internet platforms, with particular attention to the acquisition of nascent competitors, serial mergers, data accumulation, competition from free” products. “and the effect on the privacy of users,” the fact sheet states.

The ordinance also asks the FTC to examine how large tech companies study, copy, and then ultimately shut down smaller competitors by replicating their products or services.

Airplane Wi-Fi

Have you ever taken a flight, paid for Wi-Fi, and then found it didn’t work or was just too slow to be useful? The order specifically calls for this, asking the Department of Transportation to order airlines to reimburse costs “when baggage is delayed or when service is not actually provided, such as when the aircraft’s Wi-Fi or the in-flight entertainment system has broken down “, the Notes sheet.

Non-competition agreements

Non-compete agreements, in which a company tries to contractually prevent you from leaving and joining a competitor, are common in the tech industry. While non-compete agreements have been banned in California, Biden’s order asks the FTC to ban them entirely.

Hearing aids

For many, a hearing aid is less of a tech gadget than a necessity. But the price – around $ 5,000, according to the Biden administration – is not always covered by health insurance, and consumers should buy them from a health specialist. The administration would open this up to over-the-counter sales, presumably allowing hearing aids to join the ranks of cheap headphones and other tech gadgets produced cheaply overseas.

This story was updated at 1:00 p.m. with additional details.

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