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FCC Is Deluged With Comments on Net Neutrality Rules
The FCC already has received about 780,000 comments on proposed new Internet rules, and the comment period has been extended.
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With the first comment period on new open Internet rules proposed by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) set to close on Friday, the agency has already received about 780,000 comments, most of them urging the agency not to pursue rules critics say will be the end of the open Internet.
The FCC was ordered to retool its 2010 "Open Internet Order" by the courts earlier this year, prompting a proposal from FCC chairman Tom Wheeler that would allow for "commercially reasonable" deals for access between Internet service providers and Internet content providers. Critics say the proposal would explicitly allow for the creation of a tiered Internet of fast and slow lanes, enabling people to pay for better and faster Internet access and degrading the competition and benefits the Internet has brought to the U.S. economy.
Many open Internet advocates want the FCC to instead reclassify Internet service as a common carrier, an option strongly opposed by cable and phone companies, who also oppose "prescriptive rules," saying the Internet is flourishing in the U.S. and does not require further regulation.
A second comment period on the proposed rules ends Sept. 10, with the FCC expected to make a final decision by the end of 2014 or early 2015.
From The New York Times
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