MMTC to FCC: Oregon Cable Fee Troubling

The Multicultural Media, Telecom & Internet Council has joined with a handful of groups to raise a red flag at the Federal Communications Commission over an Oregon Supreme Court ruling upholding a 7% fee on broadband provided by cable operators. They argue that it is an attempt to circumvent the Internet Tax Freedom Act, which Congress made permanent in 2016. The Permanent ITFA prevents states and localities from imposing taxes on internet access, but the Oregon court ruled that the 7% levy, imposed by the city of Eugene, was a license rather than a tax. MMTC wants the FCC to preempt the Eugene fee and any similar ones that might follow. It is also concerned that other states and localities, which fought ITFA, will follow suit given the signal from the court.