US regulator scraps net neutrality rules that protect open internet

• Decision a major victory for FCC chair and Trump appointee Ajit Pai
• Critics warn plan will hand control of the web to big cable companies

The US's top media regulator voted to end rules protecting an open internet on Thursday, a move critics warn will hand control of the future of the web to cable and telecoms companies.

At a packed meeting of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in Washington, the watchdog's commissioners voted three to two to dismantle the "net neutrality" rules that prevent internet service providers (ISPs) from charging websites more for delivering certain services or blocking others should they, for example, compete with services the cable company also offers.