FCC Will Try ‘Title II Lite’ Approach to Web Regulation
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By John Eggerton: FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski will unveil on May 6 the commission’s legal approach to clarifying its authority to regulate the Internet. A senior FCC official describes it as somewhere between a “weak Title I and overly burdensome Title II” approach. “The Chairman will seek to restore the status quo as it existed prior to the court decision in order to fulfill the previously stated agenda of extending broadband to all Americans, protecting consumers, ensuring fair competition, and preserving a free and open Internet,” said the official.
The status quo had been a Title I “information services” designation for broadband, which meant a light regulatory hand and no access mandates. But a federal court said the FCC had not justified its network management decision against Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA) under Title I, so the FCC went back to the drawing board.
“The Chairman will outline a ‘third way’ approach between a weak Title I and a needlessly burdensome Title II approach,” the official said, adding that it would “1) apply to broadband transmission service only the small handful of Title II provisions that, prior to the Comcast decision, were widely believed to be within the Commission’s purview, and 2) would have broad up-front forbearance and meaningful boundaries to guard against regulatory overreach.” Full story at B&C.
Posted In: Legal, Policy, Regulatory, FCC, Media & Publishing, TV, Cable & Telecom, Mobile, Technologies / Formats, Broadband, julius genachowski
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