Another Take on FCC and Net Neutrality

[Dave Farber <dfarber () me com>]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: David Bolduc <bolduc () austin rr com>
> Date: April 6, 2010 4:04:46 PM EDT
> To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
> Subject: Another Take on FCC and Net Neutrality

> For IP, if you wish.
>
> Useful pointers in original.
>
> <http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100406/0930118895.shtml>
>
> Court Tells FCC It Has No Mandate To Enforce Net Neutrality (And That's A Good Thing)
> from the got-it-right dept
> This should come as no surprise, given that the court indicated this a few months back, but it's now official that 
> the FCC has no power to mandate net neutrality or to punish Comcast (even with a gentle wrist slap) for its traffic 
> shaping practices. Lots of people seem upset by this, but they should not be. This is the right decision. The FCC was 
> clearly going beyond its mandate, as it has no mandate to regulate the internet in this manner. In fact, what amazed 
> us throughout this whole discussion was that it was the same groups that insisted the FCC hadno mandate over the 
> broadcast flag, that suddenly insisted it did have a mandate over net neutrality. You can't have it both ways (nor 
> should you want to). Even if you believe net neutrality is important, allowing the FCC to overstep its defined 
> boundaries is not the best way to deal with it. So for those of you upset by this ruling, look at it a little more 
> closely, and be happy that the FCC has been held back from expanding its own mandate. Otherwise, the next time the 
> FCC tried to do something like the broadcast flag or suddenly decided it could enforce "three strikes," you'd have 
> little argument. 
>
> That doesn't mean that Comcast should get off free for its actions. It should still be punished -- but by the FTC, 
> rather than the FCC -- for misleading its customers about what type of service they were getting, and what the 
> limitations were on those services. As for the FCC, if it really wants a more neutral net, it should focus on making 
> sure that there's real competition in the market, rather than just paying lip service to the idea in its broadband 
> plan.



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