A federal agency voted Thursday to kick off the repeal of “net neutrality” rules designed to keep broadband providers such as AT&T, Verizon and Comcast from interfering with the internet.

It’s the latest change that the Federal Communications Commission has made to ease regulation of the phone, broadcast and cable industries.

Undoing the net neutrality rules — which, for instance, block providers from favoring their own apps and services over those of competitors such as Netflix — may be the biggest battle yet triggered by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. The tech industry, which sees net neutrality as necessary to innovation, is already pushing back by lobbying politicians, sending letters of protest to the agency and starting to rally supporters.

The FCC’s three commissioners voted 2-1, with the lone Democrat opposed, to start a process aimed at unwinding the net neutrality rules. It will be months before final rules are up for a vote.

Pai often argues that net neutrality rules are heavy handed and discourage broadband investment. His goal, he says, is to encourage companies to build out their wired and wireless broadband networks and draw more Americans online.

Wal-Mart’s earnings top estimates

Wal-Mart delivered first-quarter earnings that show how it’s winning over shoppers at stores and online, even in an increasingly competitive retail landscape.

The world’s largest retailer beat Wall Street estimates and delivered another solid gain in comparable-store sales. Customer traffic at Wal-Mart also rose while other major retailers suffered declines. And online sales surged 63 percent, more than doubling the previous quarter’s digital sales.

Wal-Mart has played catch-up to Amazon.com and other online companies.

Wal-Mart Stores reported fiscal first-quarter earnings of $3.04 billion. On a per-share basis, the Bentonville, Ark., company had a profit of $1.

A $553M settlement over air bags

Toyota, Subaru, Mazda and BMW have reached a proposed settlement that would compensate owners of 15.8 million vehicles for money lost due to the recall of Takata air bags.

In documents filed Thursday with a federal court in Miami, the automakers agreed to pay $553 million to compensate owners and widen their efforts to make sure vehicles are being repaired. The court must still approve the settlement.

Takata’s air bag inflators can explode with too much force, hurling shrapnel. The inflators are blamed for at least 16 deaths and 180 injuries worldwide. The problem touched off the largest automotive recall in U.S. history.