FCC Moves into New Battle Over Net Neutrality

Sign that says "net neutrality"
The FCC is planning to use Title II to advance net neutrality.
Image:  Shutterstock
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler garnered cheers from net neutrality supporters recently when he described the FCC’s new campaign to regulate the internet.  However, the future of the net is far from decided.

Wheeler’s proposal would have broadband internet services governed by the same Title II regulations that are used on the phone system.  Such an arrangement would not allow providers to selectively slow traffic (particularly video streaming services like Youtube and Netflix) in order to encourage customers to buy access to a faster connection.  Title II would also allow the FCC to have oversight on deals between telecom and cable companies and the internet carries of their networks.

The legality of such a ruling remains in question, however.  Congress has never taken a specific position on net neutrality, and because of this, the law is a gray area.

In 2010, the FCC attempted to organize an “open internet” policy based on a minor provision in the 1996 overhaul of the Communications Act of 1934 that called for the FCC to encourage investments and competition in the telecommunications market.  The FCC’s “open internet” policy failed, likely because they couldn’t prove that they had the jurisdiction to impose such rules.

However, if the FCC could prove that the internet should be legally treated similarly to a phone system—as a common carrier—internet access would be put under the same rules as govern railroads or pipelines.

The idea of being put under Title II and its potential restrictions has alarmed telecom and cable companies worried about excessive regulation.  “The radical course of ‘reclassification’ will lead to endless rounds of litigation and will likely be reversed on appeal,” wrote Kathleen Grillo, Verizon Communications Inc.’s senior vice president for federal regulatory and legal affairs.

It has also been suggested that broadband carriers could claim they have a First Amendment constitutional right to decide what’s carried on their networks.

“Reclassification would be contrary to the public interest by preventing investment, stifling innovation and increasing compliance costs for small businesses,” wrote lawyers for the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association in a comment last year.
In the end, however, many are suggesting that it comes down to money rather than legal rights.  “There is simply so much money at stake that neither side is going to give up easily,” wrote Frederic Paul in NetworkWorld“We can expect to see prolonged, incredibly expensive court battles, supported with extensive media campaigns on both sides. And I wouldn't count on either side sticking exclusively to the facts when a little obfuscation on this complex issue could garner support.”

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