Advocacy Organizations Submit Joint Comments to FCC on Digital Discrimination

A group of organizations referred to as the Joint Advocates [including the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] submitted comments to the Federal Communications Commission regarding the implementation of the anti-digital discrimination section in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. In their comments, the Joint Advocates requested that the FCC conduct a study to assess preferential treatment for high-income broadband users over the needs of low-income users. The group makes the following arguments in its filing:

• The FCC should analyze digital discrimination based on the infrastructure deployed as well as the type services being offered
• Historical context of past discrimination is necessary to understand the importance of an anti-discrimination rule for broadband infrastructure
• The economic outcomes of current discrimination are significant and addressing discriminatory infrastructure deployment will improve the US economy
• Projected broadband demand growth must be part of the discrimination analysis to avoid justifying ‘separate but equal’ infrastructure
• The nature of internet service provider digital discrimination takes many forms
• A new FCC study conducted this year will build on existing evidence of digital discrimination