By Steven Renderos
Yesterday the FCC voted in favor of adopting Chairman Julius Genachowski’s proposed order on Net Neutrality. The proposal would implement some core principles for wireline broadband (i.e. cable and DSL) around transparency of information, and would restrict the blocking of lawful content on the Internet. It also prohibits unreasonable discrimination. Some of those principles would apply to wireless broadband (mobile devices) but generally, wireless technology is not protected under this order.
Main Street Project and our partner organizations in the Media Action Grassroots Network are disappointed with this decision. There is good intent behind the proposal but ultimately we have to worry about its impact. This version of “Net Neutrality” falls far short of the promises made by the Obama administration and reiterated by Chairman Genachowski the last couple of years.
New rules leave big gaps
Paid Prioritization: Pay-to-play schemes do not preserve the openness of the Internet. Paid Prioritization would allow Internet Service Providers (ISPs) such as Comcast, AT&T and Verizon to charge a website a premium for speed. In effect, websites and applications that have the resources to pay for it could have their content sped up while their competitors lag behind. This is significant because it creates a tiered Internet system, with privileged websites and applications getting preference over others. The rules passed by the FCC today do not close this loophole.
Wireless Protections: The rules as passed would not allow mobile ISPs (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile) to block lawful websites, but the rules don’t prohibit them from charging different amounts to access different websites. Mobile ISPs are also not allowed to block voice applications (i.e. Skype), but are not prohibited from blocking other applications such as Facebook, PayPal and HootSuite.
Reclassification: In a court case (Comcast v. FCC) in April of this year the D.C. District Court of Appeals ruled that the FCC did not have regulatory authority over broadband services as it is currently classified. Regardless of what rules were passed yesterday by the FCC, an underlying problem is the FCC’s authority to actually enforce these rules. The FCC could’ve taken the step to resolve this by changing the legal framework that currently oversees broadband services. However, it didn’t and it’s likely that when the FCC tries to enforce these rules, they’ll be back in court.
These principles of net neutrality are NOT neutral and in fact open the door to anticompetitive practices on the part of Internet service providers looking to expand their markets. The fight for Internet freedom is not over. We plan to continue to push for the protections that our communities deserve.
The rules of the road must reflect the voices of the people in our communities that need them the most. Check out this interview produced by Radio Rootz, a project of the People’s Production House and a partner organization in the Media Action Grassroots Network.
