36 Leading Scholars to FCC: Only the Federal Communications Commission Can Protect the Open Internet
http://www.pijip.org/2015/01/29/36-leading-scholars-to-federal-trade-commiss... *36 Leading Scholars to FCC: Only the Federal Communications Commission Can Protect the Open Internet*** PIJIP, Jan 29, 2015 Thirty six law professors have signed an open letter to the Federal Communications Commission which states that the only way to protect network neutrality is for the FCC to adopt Open Internet rules under Title II of the Communications Act. Stanford CIS's statement on the release <http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/blog/2015/01/36-leading-scholars-federal-offici...> says: "The letter represents an unprecedented display of support for a bright-line ban on fees for any kind of preferential treatment (“paid prioritization”) by the nation's leading academics. It explains why a ban on all forms of paid prioritization (including zero-rating) is necessary to protect competition, innovation and free speech online and why antitrust enforcement alone cannot successfully address the problem, The letter also supports repealing the provision in the FTC Act that exempts Internet service providers from FTC oversight but explains that any efforts to do so should not hold up the adoption of open Internet rules next month. The letter is addressed to the Federal Trade Commission and filed concurrently with the FCC a week before FCC Chairman Wheeler is expected to share a draft of his network neutrality order with the other four FCC commissioners." WCL Professor Jonathan Baker said, “Allowing broadband providers to charge content, applications, and services for preferential access would hinder competition. Antitrust enforcement alone cannot prevent these competitive harms, and the resulting problems for innovation, investment, and free speech. We need an FCC rule.” Baker was formerly Chief Economist at the Federal Communications Commission and Director of the Bureau of Economics at the Federal Trade Commission. He teaches antitrust law, communications law, and law & economics at American University Washington College of Law. *The full text of the letter is available here <http://www.pijip.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Net-Neutrality-Prof-Letter-01292015.pdf>,* through AU Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property'sInternet Governance Project <http://www.pijip.org/internet-governance-project/>.
participants (1)
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J.C. DE MARTIN