Editorial: Free flow of the Internet must be preserved

Maybe you’re willing to pay extra to binge watch a Netflix series. Or maybe you like the way the Internet works now, letting you wander websites that sell shoes or dispense medical advice. Either way, you’re part of the net-neutrality debate.

The ground rules on access, cost and essential philosophy are about to shift. Guidelines that gave all Web traffic equal treatment on the digital pipes may be rolled back under a plan pushed by Ajit Pai, named by President Trump to head the Federal Communications Commission.

He’s set to demolish the net-neutrality rules adopted by the Obama administration in favor of a “light-touch, market-based” landscape. Dumping heavy-handed directives sounds appealing, especially in the name of a free-for-all online world. Less of Washington could mean more innovation, investment and opportunities for customers.

But this theoretical approach doesn’t give the full story. If the Republican majority of commission members goes along as expected in December, then major service providers who bring the Internet to your door will have enormous say over what’s available and at what price. The Internet highway will have toll roads, not the open lanes offered now.

It’s not a distant problem. The ever-consolidating world of cable and Internet service providers means greater control in fewer hands. The roiling media and digital world is combining in ways that put consumer options last on the corporate wish list. The latest example: a proposed AT&T takeover of Time Warner, which antitrust critics worry gives too much power to one entity.

Shredding Internet rules will contribute to this shrinking picture. Neutrality guarantees, adopted just two years ago, are an important bulwark against the pricing and access power that Internet providers can wield.

Pai, the commission chair, signaled the new direction months ago. Since May, some 22 million overwhelmingly negative messages have poured in. His crusade pleases small-government Republicans but infuriates tech-district Democrats from the Bay Area such as Nancy Pelosi and Anna Eshoo, along with consumer groups.

Adding to the outcry are Silicon Valley firms such as Google and Netflix fearful that their wares would be limited by higher fees. Smaller operations such as Etsy and Reddit feel the same threat.

There’s a need for balance that sensible regulations can provide. The cost of running the country’s digital pipes must be factored, meaning that usage could be included in consumer costs just as power and water bills are set.

This idea shouldn’t be widened to give cable companies the right to raise or lower fees for a full range of choices or cut off websites they don’t like.

The White House should rethink a policy that will fuel consumer resentment and a narrowing business world, two pressure points on which Trump campaigned as a candidate.

Dumping rules to safeguard Internet access will damage an essential institution.

This commentary is from The Chronicle’s editorial board. We invite you to express your views in a letter to the editor. Please submit your letter via our online form: SFChronicle.com/letters.