FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler: This Is How We Will Ensure Net Neutrality
[Commentary] After more than a decade of debate and a record-setting proceeding that attracted nearly 4 million public comments, the time to settle the network neutrality question has arrived. On Feb 5, I will circulate to the members of the Federal Communications Commission proposed new rules to preserve the Internet as an open platform for innovation and free expression.
This proposal is rooted in long-standing regulatory principles, marketplace experience, and public input received over the last several months. 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.
[Tom Wheeler is the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission]
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler: This Is How We Will Ensure Net Neutrality