Free Press Builds Definitive Case for Net Neutrality

In its filing in the Federal Communications Commission's open Internet proceeding, Free Press provides the definitive argument for protecting Net Neutrality by reclassifying broadband providers as common carriers.

The 150-page filing lays out a detailed rationale for reclassification while skewering the FCC's ongoing efforts to avoid using the Title II approach. It also presents economic data demonstrating that common-carriage rules have coincided with the healthiest periods of investment and growth in the telecommunications sector.

"Common carriage is the glue that holds the Network Compact together and is the DNA of Network Neutrality," writes Free Press Research Director S. Derek Turner. "The people grant private companies the ability to build wealth off of their use of our public land and airwaves. In return for this, we expect that access to essential communications services is made available to all without undue discrimination."

Free Press' filing exposes one of the most persistent lies in Washington: that common carriage is a heavy-handed regulation that transforms profitable communications businesses into cash-strapped, government-run utilities.