• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, July 19, 2017

The White House is endorsing Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai's plan to scrap the net neutrality rules.

Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Tuesday that the administration disagrees with the FCC's 2015 decision to classify broadband access as a utility service, regulated under Title II of the Communications Act.

"The administration believes that rules of the road are important for everyone -- website providers, Internet service providers, and consumers alike," Sanders said. "The previous administration went about this the wrong way by imposing rules on ISPs through the FCC's Title II rulemaking power."

Sanders added that the White House would like Congress to legislate "fair rules for everyone."

The FCC's 2015 net neutrality order classified broadband as a utility service and imposed several common carrier rules on internet service providers -- including bans on throttling and blocking content, and on charging companies higher fees for prioritized delivery. Pai has proposed reclassifying broadband access as an "information" service -- even though doing could deprive the agency of the authority to enforce rules that ban throttling, blocking and paid fast lanes.

Some net neutrality advocates quickly criticized the White House's stance. “President Trump and his Republican allies are waging an all-out assault on every front they can on our core democratic values," Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) stated. Whether it’s health care, immigration, climate change, or net neutrality, they want to end the vital protections that safeguard our families and to hand over power to corporations and special interests."