The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday, in a 3-2 vote along party lines, reinstated net neutrality rules which advocates say prevent broadband providers from selectively throttling users’ internet experiences on certain sites and apps.

The decision restores Obama-era regulations which were repealed in 2017 under then-President Donald Trump’s administration. It reclassifies broadband as a Title II telecommunications service; in addition to setting rules barring internet providers from meddling with internet speeds, it allows the agency greater regulatory power over the industry. (Note: Spectrum News is owned by Charter Communications.)

“Through its actions today, the Commission creates a national standard by which it can ensure that broadband internet service is treated as an essential service,” the FCC said in a statement. “Today’s vote also makes clear that the Commission will exercise its authority over broadband in a narrowly tailored fashion— without rate regulation, tariffing, or unbundling—to foster continued innovation and investment.”

The agency says the reclassification gives the FCC the authority to “play an active role” in monitoring internet service outages and to “revoke the authorizations of foreign-owned entities who pose a threat to national security to operate broadband networks in the U.S.”

At Thursday’s meeting, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said that the COVID-19 pandemic emphasized the importance of broadband internet, calling it an “essential service.”

“If we wanted to engage with the world, we needed to do it all through a broadband connection,” she said. “It became clear that no matter who you are or where you live, you need broadband to have a fair shot at digital age success. It went from nice-to-have to need-to-have for everyone, everywhere.”

“Broadband is now an essential service,” Rosenworcel added. “Essential services, the ones we count on in every aspect of modern life, have some basic oversight.”

But Brendan Carr, the senior Republican on the FCC, called the move an “unlawful power grab” that he predicted would be overturned by courts.

“Today’s Order is not about ‘net neutrality,’” he said in his opening remarks. “When we abandoned Title II in 2017, proponents of greater government control flooded the zone with apocalyptic rhetoric. Media outlets and politicians mindlessly parroted their claims. They predicted ‘the end of the Internet as we know it’ and that ‘you’ll get the Internet one word at a time.’ Consumers would have to pay to reach websites. None of it happened. Americans were subjected to one of the greatest hoaxes in regulatory history.”

A group of Republicans in the House and Senate also urged Rosenworcel to abandon the reclassification of broadband, writing in a letter to the chair this week that doing so would “inflict serious damage” on the industry and “would assuredly be reversed in court.”

Democrats, on the other hand, argue that the rules are necessary to protect consumers and national security.

“The previous Administration’s repeal of net neutrality was an anti-consumer, partisan political attack that put corporate interests over consumers,” Ohio Rep. Marcy Kaptur wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday. The @FCC's move today to reverse that decision and to protect the open internet is a win for all Americans.”

Jonathan Spalter, CEO of broadband trade association USTelecom, called it a “nonissue for broadband consumers” in a statement.

“Rather than pushing this harmful regulatory land grab, policymakers should keep their eyes on the real-world prize of building opportunity for everyone in a hyperconnected world,” Spalter said.