ICLE Files Ex Parte Notice With FCC on Restoring Internet Freedom NPRM

Kristian Stout —  9 November 2017

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.

Kristian Stout

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Kristian Stout is the Associate Director at the International Center for Law and Economics (ICLE) and a contributor to TheHill.com. As a technology professional and entrepreneur for over ten years, Kristian’s scholarship is influenced by a practical understanding of the challenges facing innovators in the modern economy. Kristian has previously been a lecturer in the computer science department of Rutgers University, is frequently invited to speak on law and technology topics, and has been published in law journals and legal treatises. Kristian is an attorney licensed to practice law in New Jersey and Pennsylvania; is a partner at A&S Technologies, a software services firm; a member of the NJ State Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights; and sits on the board of the New Jersey Leadership Program, a nonprofit that places southasian youth into political internships in New Jersey.