FCC must reestablish its authority in order to dissipate anti-competitive Internet control practices of ISPs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date: April 8, 2010

On April 6th the US court of appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) does not have the right to enforce network neutrality regulations on Comcast or any other Internet Service Provider (ISP). According to the court judge, it is not part of the commission’s responsibility to implement net neutrality rules on any ISP.

In late 2007, Comcast was caught illegally blocking Internet content and admitted to throttling peer-to-peer users during congestion times, although studies have shown that they continued to throttle outside of congestion times. The FCC’s 2008 ruling that Comcast had violated federal policy has now been overturned by a three-to-zero vote.

As a result of this decision, ISPs have greater control over the Internet and the future of Internet openness is once again under threat. There are also big implications with respect to the FCC’s national broadband plan and the future of media and communications in general.

Open Internet advocates hope the FCC will take decisive action to reestablish its legal authority.

National Coordinator of SaveOurNet.ca, Steve Anderson said this morning, “This ruling leaves Internet users vulnerable to the anti-competitive and discriminatory control practices that dominant ISPs impose. It threatens innovation, consumer choice, civic engagement and everything that an open Internet enables.”

See the original court document here: http://www.publicknowledge.org/pdf/comcast-decision.pdf

For more information about net neutrality in the US, SaveOurNet.ca encourages journalists to consult Free Press (http://freepress.net) and Save The Internet coalition (http://savetheinternet.com).

Contact:

Steve Anderson
SaveOurNet.ca
National Coordinator
604-837-5730
contact@openmedia.ca