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FCC Chairman Boosts Net Neutrality Cause With New Proposal
Score one—and a big one—for net neutrality. On Wednesday, Federal Communication Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler announced that he was ready to push a plan designed to keep the Internet relatively open and keep corporate encroachment in check.
In an essay published that day in Wired, Wheeler sketched out the basics of his proposal, which draws upon long-established rules set up by Title II of the Communications Act of 1934 that would, as Wheeler put it, “preserve the internet as an open platform for innovation and free expression.” Here’s more about his plan straight from the source:
Originally, I believed that the FCC could assure internet openness through a determination of “commercial reasonableness” under Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. While a recent court decision seemed to draw a roadmap for using this approach, I became concerned that this relatively new concept might, down the road, be interpreted to mean what is reasonable for commercial interests, not consumers.
That is why I am proposing that the FCC use its Title II authority to implement and enforce open internet protections.
Using this authority, I am submitting to my colleagues the strongest open internet protections ever proposed by the FCC. These enforceable, bright-line rules will ban paid prioritization, and the blocking and throttling of lawful content and services. I propose to fully apply—for the first time ever—those bright-line rules to mobile broadband. My proposal assures the rights of internet users to go where they want, when they want, and the rights of innovators to introduce new products without asking anyone’s permission.
All of this can be accomplished while encouraging investment in broadband networks. To preserve incentives for broadband operators to invest in their networks, my proposal will modernize Title II, tailoring it for the 21st century, in order to provide returns necessary to construct competitive networks.
The FCC chief said he would pass the proposal to members of his commission this week.
—Posted by Kasia Anderson
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Source: http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/fcc_chairman_boosts_net_20150204/
