On Internet Regulation, the FCC Goes Back to the Future

Forbes, March 12, 2018

11 Pages Posted: 20 Aug 2018

See all articles by Larry Downes

Larry Downes

Larry Downes Consulting Group

Date Written: March 12, 2018

Abstract

This article reviews eight major Internet regulatory initiatives of the FCC between 2012 and 2016, all of which have been reversed by courts, Congress, or the agency itself. These include reclassification of broadband as a public utility, net neutrality, municipal broadband, prison telephone rates, set-top box mandate, privacy, and the re-regulation of enterprise data services. Together, they paint a picture of an agency determined, for better or worse, to appoint itself regulator-in-chief for the Internet. But lacking Congressional authority to do so, the initiatives were all short-lived.

Keywords: FCC, broadband, net neutrality, public utility, municipal broadband, privacy, set-top box, prison telephone,enterprise, special access, business data services, rate regulation, competition, broadband

JEL Classification: D40, K23, L14, L22, L43, L51, L86, L96, O33

Suggested Citation

Downes, Larry, On Internet Regulation, the FCC Goes Back to the Future (March 12, 2018). Forbes, March 12, 2018, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3228049

Larry Downes (Contact Author)

Larry Downes Consulting Group ( email )

245 Willamette Ave
Kensington, CA 94708
United States

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