Regulatory classification

[Commentary] Democrats insist the sky will fall without binding network neutrality rules, which will shortly cease to be in effect after the Republican Federal Communications Commission voted to disclaim the underlying legal power claimed by the Democratic FCC in 2015. But instead of pushing substantive legislation to codify net neutrality (something no Democrat has done since 2011 but Republicans have done twice), Democrats are rallying around the Congressional Review Act — the same tool they denounced in 2017 when Republicans used it to block the FCC’s broadband privacy rules.

Charter Communications cannot use the federal network neutrality repeal to avoid a lawsuit over slow Internet speeds in New York, the state's Supreme Court ruled. The lawsuit was filed by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman against Charter and its Time Warner Cable (TWC) subsidiary in Feb 2017.

Gov Phil Scott (R-VT) is working to ensure that all state contracts with internet providers include network neutrality protections. He signed an executive order that applies to all state departments, commissions and boards.

Rep. Mike Coffman’s position that using a Congressional Review Act resolution to restore Obama-era network neutrality rules is a “non-starter” because it defers to agency rulemaking is not sitting well with net neutrality advocates.

On Feb 13, all 24 Democratic Reps on the House Commerce Committee sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commissioners over how it reviewed the docket of 24 million public comments submitted in response to the agency’s repeal of its network neutrality rules.

The Federal Communications Commission filed three motions with the District of Columbia, First, and Ninth Circuit Courts on February 9, 2018, seeking to dismiss petitions for review of the Restoring Internet Freedom Order filed by New America Foundation’s Open Technology Institute (and consolidated cases), the County of Santa Clara, et al. and Free Press. The FCC asserted the petitions are premature because the Order results from a rulemaking proceeding and a summary of the Order and the text of the amended rules have not yet been published in the Federal Register.

The Washington House on Feb 9 passed a bill meant to ensure the state's residents don't see a disruption in internet service. House Bill 2282 passed on a strong bipartisan 93-5 vote and now heads to the Senate for consideration. Under the measure, internet providers are prohibited from blocking content or impairing traffic. The bill also would require providers to disclose information about their management practices, performance and commercial terms. Violations would be enforceable under the state's Consumer Protection Act.

The Federal Communications Commission's network neutrality decision could affect everyone using the internet and the public’s access to knowledge, education and connection. “The libraries, schools, the public...all could feel this in the same way,” said Doug Harkness, technology manager at the James V. Brown Library in Williamsport (PA).  For the public, that could mean paying higher fees for their everyday internet activities separately.

Federal Communications Commission member Mignon Clyburn, who opposed the FCC's recent repeal of network neutrality rules, said she is "absolutely worried" about the change that she said allows internet service providers to “almost direct what you see." Commissioner Clyburn said, “I’m worried, I’m absolutely worried,” after the agency voted in December to rescind net neutrality regulations imposed in 2015 under President Barack Obama to govern how internet service providers treat content and data. “The world is watching everything we do ... People are watching.

[Commentary] The recent repeal of network neutrality regulations has concerned cities across the country about how the rollback will impact their communities.  Cities, with the guidance and leadership of their citizens, must begin to form oversight of Internet service providers themselves. And location intelligence is critical to this task.