The U.S. Federal Communications Commission unveiled a plan today that would completely repeal net neutrality laws put in place two years ago under the Obama administration, a move that would have long-term implications for the future of the internet.

Under current laws, internet service providers must treat all content equally. The FCC’s new plan, which goes by the dubious name “Restoring Internet Freedom Order,” would give ISPs such as AT&T Corp. and Comcast Corp. complete control over what websites and services their users can access, and whether or not users would have to pay higher rates to access certain sites. The plan would also allow ISPs to throttle traffic for specific sites, making some sites load faster or slower than others.

In a statement, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai (pictured) called existing net neutrality rules “heavy-handed, utility-style regulations” that have “depressed investment in building and expanding broadband networks and deterred innovation.”

“Today, I have shared with my colleagues a draft order that would abandon this failed approach and return to the longstanding consensus that served consumers well for decades,” said Pai. “Under my proposal, the federal government will stop micromanaging the Internet. Instead, the FCC would simply require Internet service providers to be transparent about their practices so that consumers can buy the service plan that’s best for them and entrepreneurs and other small businesses can have the technical information they need to innovate.”

Pai’s plan would also put the Federal Trade Commission in charge of policing ISPs, saying the organization will “protect consumers’ online privacy.” In his statement, Pai repeatedly highlighted net neutrality as an Obama-era policy, and he also claimed that his plan is more transparent than the original net neutrality plan since he is releasing it three weeks before the expected vote.

The repeal would be welcome news for major telcos, which have lobbied extensively to gut regulations that restrict their control over internet traffic. Many businesses support net neutrality, however, including major tech companies such as Google LLC and Facebook Inc., which both supported the Net Neutrality Day of Action in July.

“Internet companies, innovative startups, and millions of internet users depend on these common-sense protections that prevent blocking or throttling of internet traffic, segmenting the internet into paid fast lanes and slow lanes, and other discriminatory practices,” Google said in a blog post at the time. “Thanks in part to net neutrality, the open internet has grown to become an unrivaled source of choice, competition, innovation, free expression, and opportunity. And it should stay that way.”

Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg added that “if a service provider can block you from seeing certain content or can make you pay extra for it, that hurts all of us and we should have rules against it.”

The FCC’s plan has sparked outrage across the internet, with numerous businesses, celebrities, Democratic politicians and regular consumers taking to Twitter and other social media outlets to vent about the impending repeal.

The Internet isn't just for streaming movies and shows. It's for small businesses, parents, workers, entrepreneurs, researchers, students, and children. The internet should remain free #NetNeutrality

— Jade 🤘🤘🤘 (@JadeBurnam) November 21, 2017

Netflix supports strong #NetNeutrality. We oppose the FCC's proposal to roll back these core protections.

— Netflix US (@netflix) November 21, 2017

The FCC is siding with big corporations by releasing a plan to claw back #NetNeutrality rules. They were hoping you wouldn’t notice. We must fight back to defend a free and open internet.

— Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) November 21, 2017

The FCC’s plan has also stirred up heated resistance on Reddit, where many users are calling for U.S. citizens to contact their state representatives to demand their support for net neutrality. One Reddit thread has already reached more than 3,000 comments in just three hours, with many users accusing the FCC of corruption. “This is what happens when we allow the corporations to take over their regulators,” said one Reddit user.

The FCC will vote on the plan to repeal net neutrality on Dec. 14. Since Republicans control three of the commission’s five seats, the vote is expected to pass.

Photo: FCC via Wikimedia Commons