MURDER, POLITICS, AND THE END OF THE JAZZ AGE
by Michael Wolraich
There has been an push back on allowing Verizon, Comcast and other large companies to charge extra fees to high content users. The FCC Chairman, Tom Wheeler has come out with a statement that is showing he will use the Title II Common Carrier classification if he has too. The fight has been going on now for several years. He has the power to do so under the 1930's law. We will see if it happens. If not this will become a political issue. They should have classified the internet ISP's as a common carrier in 1996.
I do not believe we should leave the market unprotected for multiple more years while lawyers for the biggest corporate players tie the FCC’s protections up in court. Notwithstanding this, all regulatory options remain on the table. If the proposal before us now turns out to be insufficient or if we observe anyone taking advantage of the rule, I won’t hesitate to use Title II. However, unlike with Title II, we can use the court’s roadmap to implement Open Internet regulation now rather than endure additional years of litigation and delay.