Safe Internet Alliance

By Stacie Rumenap, Board Member of Safe Internet Alliance & President of Stop Child Predators

A federal court ruled today in favor of Comcast and against the Federal Communications Commission in the agency’s attempt to oversee the Internet and force Comcast to change the way it manages its broadband network.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled 3-0 that the FCC failed to show it had the necessary authority to impose restrictions over the cable company’s network management, which is categorized separately from phone, cable television and wireless services. 

The FCC ordered Comcast in 2008 to end the practice of blocking customers’ use of certain peer-to-peer applications that are most commonly used to distribute illegal content such as copyrighted music and movies, and child pornography.   

While Comcast said it would change its network management practices to ensure all Internet traffic was treated essentially the same, it asked an appeals court to review whether the FCC had the authority to impose such requirements. 

Similarly, members of Congress recently asked the FCC if it would reclassify broadband as a telecommunications service, meaning Internet service providers would be regulated like telephone companies, an idea embraced by some public interest groups.

At last month’s House Commerce hearing on the release of the National Broadband Plan, several Members suggested that reclassification is a stepping stone for implementing network neutrality, which in their opinion, would be detrimental to the telecommunications industry.

The FCC was reluctant to say if it would do so, although Chairman Julius Genachowski told lawmakers that the FCC may consider the idea depending on the outcome of today’s court decision.
 
Verizon and AT&T have called on Congress to focus on enforcement of Internet oversight rather than strict rule-making so that the Internet can continue to flourish without being overburdened by heavy regulations.

Some claim that the FCC doesn’t want to reclassify broadband at all.  But it’s clear they do want the ability to establish the broadband Universal Service Fund, which could be achieved without reclassification.

Regardless, today’s ruling could have major implications for future regulation of Internet access in the United States.  At the end of the day, Internet safety and security needs to be the number one priority if the desired benefits of an open Internet—free speech, innovation, economic prosperity, democratic participation, e-learning, and telemedicine—are to be realized.