Law and Economics of Net Neutrality скачать в хорошем качестве

Law and Economics of Net Neutrality

According to the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the policy of the United States shall be “to preserve the vibrant and competitive free market that presently exists for the Internet and other interactive computer services, unfettered by Federal or State regulation.” While some deregulation has occurred since the 1996 Act, the tide turned regulatory during the Obama Administration, including the decision in 2015 to subject Broadband Internet Access Services to legacy common carrier regulation designed for the old Ma Bell Monopoly. Following this change, the FCC engaged in what critics regarded as a series of legal and analytical gymnastics, the latter prompting the Commission’s Chief Economist to admit that the FCC’s 2015 Order was an “economics free zone.” Thereafter, the D.C. Circuit granted the agency deference and upheld the Commission’s decision, leaving the state of the law in flux. Adhering to the deregulatory intent of the 1996 Act, in 2018 the FCC offered a regulatory reprieve with its Restoring Internet Freedom Order (RIFO), unwinding common carrier regulation for broadband services. While partisanship was arguably a contributor to that decision, supporters point out that the Commission did rely on peer-reviewed econometric evidence which demonstrated that industry investment had suffered because of reclassification. The FCC’s RIFO was also upheld by the D.C. Circuit, but the court expressed dissatisfaction with the way the Commission is changing its policy back and forth. Following the 2020 election, critics assert that the partisan nature of broadband regulation is revealed once more. As in 2015, the FCC is about to vote on a new Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to reinstate public utility regulation on the Internet. Please join us for a teleforum where we took a deep dive into the law and economics of this important proceeding, including new evidence on the investment effects of common carrier regulation of broadband services. Featuring: Dr. George S. Ford, Chief Economist, Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal & Economic Public Policy Studies Moderator: Lawrence J. Spiwak, President, Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal & Economic Public Policy Studies * * * * As always, the Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues; all expressions of opinion are those of the speaker.