“We need trust but verify,” she said. “I'm concerned we're going to create a new wave of legal uncertainty both for larger companies but also people trying to get into the game.”
So-called “net neutrality” rules have been hotly debated among policymakers, Internet providers and content companies. Without regulation, consumer advocates say, giant conglomerates - citing business or political reasons - could limit consumers from freely accessing certain types of content.
The FCC proposal also takes the United States in a different direction from counterparts in Europe. Earlier this month, the European Parliament voted to stop Internet providers from charging for preferential access. The move was protested by European telecommunications companies and requires approval of EU leaders to become law, likely at a meeting in October.
In January, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit affirmed that the FCC had the authority to create open-access rules but said the agency failed to establish that its 2010 regulations didn't overreach. It was the second time a court had struck down such a rule since the FCC began adopting an open Internet policy in 2004.
While the older rules technically allowed for paid priority treatment, the practice was discouraged.
The new rules would require that such deals be “commercially reasonable.” If such a deal for priority access were challenged either by an outside party of the FCC itself, the commission would look at its impact on competition, on consumers, on free speech and on civic engagement. It would also try to determine whether a broadband provider was acting in good faith.
The commission will also ask for comment on how to make such dealings more transparent, but it didn't have a recommendation on the matter.
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