WASHINGTON, DC —Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a Public Notice regarding the future of the FCC’s Open Internet Rules. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the prohibitions against blocking and discrimination in those rules last month. The Public Notice was accompanied by a statement from FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler noting that the Commission would not seek judicial appeal of the ruling, and clarified that the Commission intends to “keep Title II authority on the table,” though the notice itself does not mention that source of authority explicitly.
The following statement can be attributed to Sarah Morris, Senior Policy Counsel for the Open Technology Institute at New America:
“Following last month’s court decision, all eyes have been on the FCC awaiting its next steps. We believe that the FCC already has the tools at its disposal to implement the Open Internet Rules. The strongest path forward to preserve net neutrality protections and to achieve other important FCC objectives is to reclassify broadband as a telecommunications service. Accordingly, we are encouraged to see that the Chairman is not foreclosing that option, but we are disappointed to see that the FCC appears to be moving forward primarily on a theory of authority under section 706. Today’s announcement and Public Notice fail to provide additional clarity and certainty about the future of the Open Internet Rules, and they do little to address concerns about the Commission’s reluctance to respond to widespread calls for reclassification.”
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