FCC Could Mess Up Internet With 'Net Neutrality' Rules No One Needs

[Commentary] The Federal Communications Commission has proposed rules that would shift service and network management decision-making from Internet service providers to regulators in the name of "preserving the open Internet." Yet the FCC hasn't addressed what consumer harms it aims to remedy and whether the costs of imposing this remedy are exceeded by the benefits. Simply put, the case has not been made for regulating America's dynamic Internet sector at this time. In the real world, the fact is that the Internet ecosystem we have is functioning quite well to satisfy customer needs without the ministrations of the FCC. In fact, one might go so far as to say it functions as well as it does because of that.

[Barbara Esbin is a senior fellow at the Progress and Freedom Foundation.]