MMTC: Shame, Not Regulations, Can Protect Net Consumers

Saying the Internet has its own inherent "shaming culture," the Minority Media & Telecommunications Council (MMTC) has asked the Federal Communications Commission not to impose "draconian enforcement mechanisms" in its effort to protect consumers.

MMTC, which said it was speaking on behalf of two dozen minority and civil rights groups, said it supported five out the six proposed network neutrality guidelines the FCC is proposing to codify, but has issues with the nondiscrimination principle. As it has in the past, MMTC expressed reservations about applying the net neutrality rules to wireless and said it doesn't want the commission prohibiting "pro-consumer voluntary agreements for the provision of specialized services." MMTC also took the opportunity to tell the FCC it has a moral duty to ensure that its network neutrality rules, which MMTC has "deep concerns" about, do not "lock into place and perpetuate the vast and current racial disparities in broadband access, adoption, and informed use."

MMTC says the FCC should focus on transparency and disclosure. Which means requiring ISPs to tell subs how they are managing their service. That is when the shaming culture takes over, says MMTC, which is another way of saying marketing forces. "In the few cases of net neutrality violations over the past five years, each and every one was quickly corrected because of the transparent and interactive Internet culture, which forces broadband providers to serve the demands and wants of users or else suffer the penalties of lost subscribers," the group said in its comments.