Rules for using the Internet were proposed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Dec. 1. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said the rules will be “an important milestone in the fight to protect a free and open Internet for all Americans,” in a Dec. 1 post on the official FCC blog.
The rules will be points of discussion for a planned FCC meeting Dec. 21. Included is the right for Americans to have freedom to access “lawful content on the Internet, without discrimination” and that “will ensure that no central authority—either corporations or government—has the right to decide what you can access on the Internet,” according to Genachowski.
It includes the right to have “basic information about your broadband service,” so users can have more information when choosing a broadband service, according to Genachowski.
Also included is the rule, “The Internet will remain a level playing field,” by protecting against corporate actors. “The ability for consumers to speak their mind, engage in commerce, and innovate without permission from a corporation has enabled the Internet’s [unparalleled] success,” Genachowski said. “Our rules will protect against corporate gatekeepers prioritizing access to one person’s content over another’s.”
The proposed rules were criticized by FCC Commissioner Robert M. McDowell who said in a statement the rules only give the choice between a “bad option (Title I Internet regulation)” and a “worse option (regulating the Internet like a monopoly phone company under Title II).”
“Such rules would upend three decades of bipartisan and international consensus that the Internet is best able to thrive in the absence of regulation,” McDowell said. “By choosing this highly interventionist course, the commission is ignoring the will of the elected representatives of the American people.”
The rules will be points of discussion for a planned FCC meeting Dec. 21. Included is the right for Americans to have freedom to access “lawful content on the Internet, without discrimination” and that “will ensure that no central authority—either corporations or government—has the right to decide what you can access on the Internet,” according to Genachowski.
It includes the right to have “basic information about your broadband service,” so users can have more information when choosing a broadband service, according to Genachowski.
Also included is the rule, “The Internet will remain a level playing field,” by protecting against corporate actors. “The ability for consumers to speak their mind, engage in commerce, and innovate without permission from a corporation has enabled the Internet’s [unparalleled] success,” Genachowski said. “Our rules will protect against corporate gatekeepers prioritizing access to one person’s content over another’s.”
The proposed rules were criticized by FCC Commissioner Robert M. McDowell who said in a statement the rules only give the choice between a “bad option (Title I Internet regulation)” and a “worse option (regulating the Internet like a monopoly phone company under Title II).”
“Such rules would upend three decades of bipartisan and international consensus that the Internet is best able to thrive in the absence of regulation,” McDowell said. “By choosing this highly interventionist course, the commission is ignoring the will of the elected representatives of the American people.”
