WOKV’s Consumer Warrior Clark Howard shares his take on what happens next, as net neutrality rules officially expire

Jacksonville, FL — Six months after the Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 to roll back Obama-era regulations, requiring Internet service providers to treat all online traffic equally, net neutrality has now officially expired.

Our Consumer Warrior Clark Howard says he's been a strong supporter of net neutrality, as ISP's will now have a lot more power over what you can do online and at what speed.

"What net neutrality means is that the monopoly cable and phone companies would have to treat all Internet traffic the same. There's a desire for them to be able to differentiate, have fast lanes and slow lanes on the Internet, and have the ability under the law to block any content they don't like or they don't want," says Howard.

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Howard explains that he finds the lifting of net neutrality rules so concerning, because we just don't have sufficient competition for the internet connections that come to our homes and businesses.

"Without net neutrality, a monopoly phone company or cable company would be able to put up toll gates and charge money in order for you to be able to see content from a website. I think that is wrong and that's why I'm so much in favor of net neutrality," says Howard.

More than 20 states have also filed lawsuits to keep the rules in place, while others have enacted their net neutrality state laws as a replacement.