FCC on Broadband Regulation: “No, Wait, It Is a Duck After All”
James Gattuso /
The Federal Communications Commission is nothing if not persistant. Exactly one month ago today, a federal appeals court unanimously ruled that the FCC had no authority to regulate the Internet. But yesterday, FCC chairman Julius Genachowski announced the agency would try to do so anyway.
Specifically, Genachowski wants to put into place so-called “net neutrality” rules, restricting how broadband network providers such as Verizon and Comcast can manage traffic on their networks. No statue, however, actually gives the FCC power to regulate broadband networks. Congress has only given the agency to power to regulate “telecommunications,” and the FCC, in a series of much-litigated decisions, has already ruled that broadband is decidedly not a telecommunications service.
The FCC tried to get around this problem by arguing that broadband really is a lot like telecommunications, so it should be able to regulate it too. In last month’s court decision, that argument was smacked down hard, with the judges saying that “close” is not good enough.
Now Chairman Genachowski has come back with a new plan.
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