Yesterday afternoon, the Federal Communications Commission voted along partisan lines to reverse the Open Internet Order. That rule had codified the consumer-protection principle that internet service companies should not be allowed to play favorites when deciding how fast to transmit online data. Telecommunications scholars and advocates Sascha Meinrath at Penn State and Nathalia Foditsch at American University explain how the move puts the U.S. in opposition to a growing trend across the world of embracing regulation to limit corporate power over the internet.

Another piece of internet history disappears today, as AOL Instant Messenger is discontinued after 20 years. Communications scholar Nicholas Bowman from West Virginia University explains how the pioneering real-time text messaging system taught people the skills they needed to navigate the modern digital communications environment.

And this holiday season, as millions of families and friends come together, holiday feasts will be prepared and consumed. UConn’s Natalie Munro explains how feasting originated and became such an important part of family bonding.