Ill-advised Common Carrier Regulation Prevails

WASHINGTON—The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), a technology policy think tank, today released the following statement from Robert D. Atkinson, ITIF president, on the opinion from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in US Telecom Association v. Federal Communications Commission:

Classification of broadband as a common carrier under Title II regulation was a mistake. Common carriage is simply a very poor fit for regulating the rapidly evolving technology that underpins today’s broadband networks and allows them to adapt to the changing demands we place on them.

Today’s opinion is disappointing. We hope the Supreme Court or Congress will now put us back on the right track. As it stands, we are dooming ourselves to stagnant, one-size-fits-all networks.

Congress should clarify this outdated area of law with balanced rules that allow innovation to drive us toward optimal network performance while giving the FCC the tools it needs to see that an open Internet continues to thrive. When it comes to net neutrality, we don’t want the “strongest possible” rules. Instead, flexible guidelines and ongoing oversight would allow us to enjoy the benefits of good traffic differentiation while preventing practices that are anti-competitive or would otherwise legitimately harm the open Internet.