The FCC’s decision to eliminate Obama-era net neutrality will hurt small to mid-size retailers and affect consumers
When the Federal Communications Commission voted Thursday to abolish net neutrality rules, the reaction from e-retailers and other web-based companies was swift, negative and sometimes threatening. Lawsuits and proposed legislation are expected to follow.
Among e-commerce companies, observers expect the FCC decision to be especially hard on smaller players. But even e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc., No. 1 in the Internet Retailer 2017 Top 500, is worried about what the end of net neutrality rules—which require internet service providers (ISPs) to treat all data the same way—could mean.
Darren Hill, CEO and co-founder of WebLinc, the parent company of e-commerce platform Workarea, says the abolishment of federal net neutrality rules—assuming it survives inevitable court challenges and opposition on Capitol Hill—could be terrible for small and mid-sized e-retailers.
