New study says protecting network neutrality good for the economy

The Federal Communications Commission's proposed rules for network neutrality would do more to insure economic stability than the proposal from Google and Verizon, according to a new report from New York University think-tank.

The report from the Institute of Policy Integrity at the NYU School of Law was released Wednesday and argues the Google-Verizon proposal would increase economic uncertainty by weakening the open framework of the Internet. The authors instead endorse net neutrality principles laid out by the FCC last November. "We can take a cautious approach by protecting net neutrality," said Michael Livermore, executive director of Policy Integrity. "The government should move forward with their plan to keep net neutrality in place in order to preserve the open Internet we have come to rely on and the economic benefit we gain from it." The report argues a shift away from net neutrality now may be impossible to reverse at a later date. On the other hand, strict net neutrality rules today could be relaxed down the road if better alternatives emerge.