Mostly no, at the federal level in the US. Throttling is legal as long as the provider discloses it honestly. A few states, led by California, ban certain kinds of throttling outright.
Federal rules after 2025
In January 2025 the Sixth Circuit struck down the FCC's 2024 net neutrality rules, ruling that broadband is an "information service" the agency lacks authority to regulate that way. The FCC under Brendan Carr didn't appeal and, in July 2025, moved to remove the net neutrality rules from its books. There is no federal ban on slowing specific apps or sites today.
What remains is a disclosure duty. ISPs must publish broadband labels showing speeds and linking to their network management practices. The FTC also polices deceptive claims: in 2019, AT&T agreed to pay $60 million after the FTC alleged it throttled "unlimited" customers without adequate disclosure. So throttling itself is allowed, but hiding it can be illegal.
State laws
California's net neutrality law prohibits ISPs from blocking or slowing lawful traffic based on the content or app, and the industry dropped its legal challenge in 2022. Washington and a handful of other states have their own rules. These state laws were not affected by the Sixth Circuit ruling.
Hotels are a different case
A hotel offering Wi-Fi to guests generally isn't treated as a broadband ISP. When the FCC wrote its earlier open internet rules, it chose not to apply them to venues like coffee shops and airlines that provide internet as an amenity. Hotels can cap speeds or prioritize traffic on their own network. What they can't do is jam your personal hotspot to force you onto theirs.