Regulatory classification

The Federal Communications Commission issued a ruling rejecting requests to make it harder for text messaging providers to protect consumers from spam and scam robotexts. The FCC’s decision makes clear that wireless providers are authorized to continue their efforts to stop unwanted text messaging through robotext-blocking, anti-spoofing measures, and other anti-spam features.

While wireless operators generally and wholeheartedly support the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to classify SMS and MMS texting services as “information services” rather than “telecommunications services” or “commercial mobile services,” Verizon is urging the commission to go a step further and include Rich Communication Services (RCS) as well. In a draft of the declaratory ruling that the FCC will consider at its Dec 12 meeting, the FCC acknowledged that RCS is the next-generation SMS and is an IP-based asynchronous messaging protocol.

On Nov 26, 2018, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai responded to an Aug 31 letter from Sen Ed Markey (D-MA) and Rep Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and to a Sept 6 letter from Sens Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Kamala Harris (D-CA) regarding the problems the Santa Clara County Fire Department had using Verizon's network as they battled the Mendocino Complex Fire. The lawmakers were concerend about Verizon's throtttling of the first responders' communication.

Democrats are expected to use their upcoming control of the House to push for strong net neutrality rules. Gigi Sohn -- a former lawyer at the Federal Communications Commission who is now a fellow at the Georgetown Law Institute for Technology, Law and Policy -- said she expects Democrats to use their new power to push for the restoration of strong net neutrality rules — and for the topic to be on the lips of presidential hopefuls. “I have no doubt that bills to restore the 2015 rules will be introduced in both the Senate and the House relatively early on,” Sohn said.

A group of 10 senators is calling on Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to stand down on his proposal to classify text messaging as an information service. “We urge you to right this wrong and classify text messaging as a telecommunications service, affording this vital means of communications protections that promote innovation and support freedom of speech,” the lawmakers write in a letter led by Sen. Ed Markey(D-MA) and co-signed by eight Senate Democrats as well as Bernie Sanders (I-VT).

USTelecom, the telecommunication industry lobby group that represents AT&T and Verizon, has consistently claimed that network neutrality rules hurt broadband investment. Yet the same lobby group has released data showing that fiber deployment grew significantly while net neutrality rules were in effect. Even more surprising is that USTelecom also recently claimed that an increase in broadband network investment that happened before the net neutrality repeal was somehow caused by the repeal that hadn't yet taken effect.

Public Knowledge joined 19 other public interest, rural, Native American, and consumer groups (including the Benton Foundation) in a letter urging Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to either issue a new Public Notice examining the classification of text messaging and short codes, or to classify both as Title II telecommunications services. 

It seems counterintuitive that a phone line could be a "speaker." But the cable industry very much wants to ensure that the act of transmitting speech from Point A to Point B is protected by the First Amendment, so that making a cable connection carry any speech it isn’t interested in amounts to unconstitutional “forced speech.” The addition of Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court roster gives the industry a significant boost.

On the anniversary of the repeal of network neutrality, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai now proposes another goodie for carriers – classifying both short codes and text messages as Title I “information service” rather than a Title II telecommunications service. As this is even more ridiculous than 2017’s reclassification of broadband as Title I, the draft Order relies primarily on the false claim that classifying text messaging as Title I is an anti-robocall measure.

The Democratic Reps staying mum on network neutrality have all taken campaign contributions from major telecommunication companies, according to Federal Election Commission filings. Democratic Reps have until Dec 10 to get 218 signatures for the Congressional Review Act that would overturn Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai's Restoring Internet Freedom order. This would require every Democratic Rep and a few Republican Reps.