Allbritton backs broadband reclassification, network neutrality

Allbritton Communications, the parent company of Washington's NewsChannel 8 and Politico, is backing the Federal Communications Commission's plan to bring broadband Internet providers under greater regulation in order to enforce network neutrality.

In comments filed with the FCC, Allbritton's senior vice president for legal and strategic affairs, Jerald Fritz, argues that without net-neutrality rules Internet service providers will be able to discriminate against competitors and control what news reaches consumers. "Without the FCC's intervention, wireless and wireline distributors will be capable of single-handedly controlling the modern news cycle," Fritz writes. Allbritton also endorsed the FCC's plan to reclassify broadband as a telecom service, which would allow the FCC to impose net neutrality without the need for legislation.