“Is the Federal Communications Commission the wrong agency to handle matters of net neutrality and Internet openness?” Brian Fung wonders for The Washington Post.
“That’s what some in Congress and elsewhere are suggesting. Instead, they say, ensuring that Internet providers don’t abuse their network operator roles should be a matter for the Federal Trade Commission and antitrust law,” Fung reports. “In a hearing Friday, members of the House Judiciary Committee grilled current and former federal officials over the possibility of letting the FTC take on the punishing of broadband companies that have harmed consumers.”
“Do you believe the FTC would be effective at protecting the competitive interest?” asked Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.),” Fung reports. “Former Republican FCC commissioner Robert McDowell and current FTC commissioner Joshua Wright told the committee that using the FTC to regulate companies after the fact would be enough and that the FCC does not need to regulate Internet service providers (ISPs). So far, there’s been no evidence of a market failure that would require the FCC’s preemptive regulation, they said.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: If it ain’t broke, don’t “fix” it.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “David G.” for the heads up.]
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