This week, the International Center for Law & Economics filed an ex parte notice in the FCC’s Restoring Internet Freedom docket. In it, we reviewed two of the major items that were contained in our formal comments. First, we noted that
the process by which [the Commission] enacted the 2015 [Open Internet Order]… demonstrated scant attention to empirical evidence, and even less attention to a large body of empirical and theoretical work by academics. The 2015 OIO, in short, was not supported by reasoned analysis.
Further, on the issue of preemption, we stressed that
[F]ollowing the adoption of an Order in this proceeding, a number of states may enact their own laws or regulations aimed at regulating broadband service… The resulting threat of a patchwork of conflicting state regulations, many of which would be unlikely to further the public interest, is a serious one…
[T]he Commission should explicitly state that… broadband services may not be subject to certain forms of state regulations, including conduct regulations that prescribe how ISPs can use their networks. This position would also be consistent with the FCC’s treatment of interstate information services in the past.
Our full ex parte comments can be viewed here.
