On behalf of millions of American consumers and the many innovators who propel technology and our prosperity, CASE today filed the following comment with the FCC regarding its “Notice of Proposed Rulemaking” to undo the 2015 Order regulating the internet like a public utility:
July 17, 2017
In the Matter of Restoring Internet Freedom ) WC Docket No. 17-108
COMMENTS FROM CASE: CONSUMER ACTION FOR A STRONG ECONOMY PERTAINING TO THE NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING
Chairman Pai, Commissioners Clyburn and O’Rielly:
Consumer Action for a Strong Economy (CASE) is adamantly opposed to Title II reclassification of the internet as a “common carrier” subject to the arcane and outdated federal regulatory structure of the Communications Act of 1934.
On its face, the very idea of subjecting the cutting-edge technology of the internet to federal regulations conceived more than 80 years ago is a proposition that redefines absurdity; in practice the real consequences of such an action will be devastating to the future of innovation and national prosperity.
For decades there has existed a strong bi-partisan consensus that the internet should remain free and unfettered by unnecessary attempts to bring it within the sphere of onerous government oversight. This light-touch consensus by lawmakers has served as a lynchpin in the unprecedented success of the digital revolution that has transformed the world.
Title II regulations will result in a radical U-turn away the remarkable path of innovation and progress the internet has traveled for more than two decades. Government plays a role in ensuring consumer safety and policing the marketplace for manipulation, fraud and corruption, but Title II extends far beyond these basic measures, and instead leads to an internet shaped by the whims and priorities of politicians and special interests, not consumers and innovators in the marketplace.
Please see links below, including a coalition letter co-signed by CASE and over 50 organizations and individuals representing tens of millions of consumers, as well as our published writing on this subject for comment submission.
