There is a subversive plan to slow the Internet, and it must be stopped. The new plan, now being contemplated by the Federal Communications Commission, could alter the Internet forever. It could slow speeds, limit the content and applications consumers can access, and create a two-tier system that favors some companies over others. The plan even has a code name: it’s called “Title II.”
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s proposal to implement “net neutrality” is the touchpoint for this controversy. After serial losses in federal court, where numerous judges admonished FCC overreach, Wheeler is now trying to thread the regulatory needle. He wants to use the tenuous authority the court has granted him — the legitimacy of which many still challenge — to impose yet a third version of net neutrality rules. But because Wheeler’s proposal leaves some room for network experimentation, the net neutrality fundamentalists have cried foul. They say Wheeler sold out to private industry. They say his proposal could result in “fast lanes” and “slow lanes” on the Internet. They insist Wheeler instead reclassify the Internet as a public utility. Read More
via The Heartland Institute -
Research & Commentary: The FCC’s Title II Proposal
The Federal Communications Commission in May voted 3-2 to advance new Internet rules addressing two major policies: The first bans broadband providers from blocking or slowing down Web sites, but allows them to strike deals with content companies for preferential treatment in “commercially reasonable” ways; the second would reclassify broadband as a Title II common-carrier telecommunications service, not an information service.
Net neutrality is a set of federal rules requiring Internet service providers to allow equal access to all online content and applications regardless of the source. Providers may not favor or block any particular product, service, or Web site. Net neutrality has been controversial ever since it was first proposed. Proponents favor the Title II reclassification approach because it gives the FCC new muscle to control Internet management and pricing while giving the new rules a firmer legal footing. Opponents of net neutrality and Title II reclassification—including carriers, Internet service providers, and free market groups—argue treating the Internet as a utility would give far too much power to the FCC and suppress innovation and broadband investment. Read More
