Despite votes in Congress and efforts from advocacy groups, net neutrality officially ended Monday.
Back in December, the Federal Communications Commission repealed net neutrality regulations, which prevent internet service companies from charging users more to see certain content.
The Senate voted to block the repeal back in May, and passed a measure to restore net neutrality. However, this measure has yet to make it through the House of Representatives. In fact, the measure to restore net neutrality is not expected to pass in the House, or be signed by President Donald Trump.
And now, the rollback has officially gone into effect.
From the beginning, real estate advocacy groups and companies have opposed the rollback, saying the changes to net neutrality create an unlevel playing field for small business owners.
Real estate experts such as Zillow, Redfin and the National Association of Realtors stood against the rollback.
Back in May, when the Senate voted to block the rollback, Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, tweeted that many Ohio members of NAR joined together to witness the vote.
Like many Ohio businesses, the Internet is crucial to realtors. Glad that so many Ohio members of @nardotrealtor were here yesterday to witness the Senate’s passage of one of their top priorities – #NetNeutrality. pic.twitter.com/tuXtARkQca
— Sherrod Brown (@SenSherrodBrown) May 17, 2018
Several states, about 29, are now considering legislation to implement their own form of net neutrality. However, at a national level, net neutrality is dead.
“The business of real estate is increasingly conducted online, and NAR has concerns the FCC’s decision to roll back net neutrality could negatively impact the way consumers search for homes or how real estate is transacted,” NAR President Elizabeth Mendenhall said.
“With the net neutrality decision finalized today, NAR urges Congress and the FCC to work to ensure the Internet remains a fair and open platform, in which our 1.3 million members can freely share lawful content on the internet,” Mendenhall said.
