Showing archive for: “FCC”
Reconfirming Jessica Rosenwercel as an FCC Commissioner Would Undermine Internet Freedom
The Senate should not reconfirm Jessica Rosenworcel to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), in order to allow the Trump Administration to usher in needed reforms in the critical area of communications policy. As documented by the Free State Foundation (FSF) and other supporters of free markets, the Obama Administration’s FCC has done a dismal job ... Reconfirming Jessica Rosenwercel as an FCC Commissioner Would Undermine Internet Freedom
The FTC, not the FCC, Should Regulate Internet Privacy
In an October 25 blog commentary posted at this site, Geoffrey Manne and Kristian Stout argued against a proposed Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ban on the use of mandatory arbitration clauses in internet service providers’ consumer service agreements. This proposed ban is just one among many unfortunate features in the latest misguided effort by the ... The FTC, not the FCC, Should Regulate Internet Privacy
An FCC ban on arbitration of privacy claims would be the anti-consumer-protection approach
Over the weekend, Senator Al Franken and FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn issued an impassioned statement calling for the FCC to thwart the use of mandatory arbitration clauses in ISPs’ consumer service agreements — starting with a ban on mandatory arbitration of privacy claims in the Chairman’s proposed privacy rules. Unfortunately, their call to arms rests ... An FCC ban on arbitration of privacy claims would be the anti-consumer-protection approach
FCC Chairman Wheeler’s claimed fealty to FTC privacy standards is belied by the rules he actually proposes
Next week the FCC is slated to vote on the second iteration of Chairman Wheeler’s proposed broadband privacy rules. Of course, as has become all too common, none of us outside the Commission has actually seen the proposal. But earlier this month Chairman Wheeler released a Fact Sheet that suggests some of the ways it ... FCC Chairman Wheeler’s claimed fealty to FTC privacy standards is belied by the rules he actually proposes
FCC Disregard of the Rule of Law Requires Legislative Reform
On October 6, the Heritage Foundation released a legal memorandum (authored by me) that recounts the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) recent sad history of ignoring the rule of law in its enforcement and regulatory actions. The memorandum calls for a legislative reform agenda to rectify this problem by reining in the agency. Key points culled ... FCC Disregard of the Rule of Law Requires Legislative Reform
A Set-top Box Set-Back and an Opportunity for Good Government
There must have been a great gnashing of teeth in Chairman Wheeler’s office this morning as the FCC announced that it was pulling the Chairman’s latest modifications to the set-top box proposal from its voting agenda. This is surely but a bump in the road for the Chairman; he will undoubtedly press ever onward in ... A Set-top Box Set-Back and an Opportunity for Good Government
MVPDs “Unlock” the Box (again), but the FCC Doesn’t Seem to Care
The FCC’s blind, headlong drive to “unlock” the set-top box market is disconnected from both legal and market realities. Legally speaking, and as we’ve noted on this blog many times over the past few months (see here, here and here), the set-top box proposal is nothing short of an assault on contracts, property rights, and ... MVPDs “Unlock” the Box (again), but the FCC Doesn’t Seem to Care
A Flag On the Play: Gigi Sohn Commits a Copyright Foul
As Commissioner Wheeler moves forward with his revised set-top box proposal, and on the eve of tomorrow’s senate FCC oversight hearing, we would do well to reflect on some insightful testimony regarding another of the Commission’s rulemakings from ten years ago: We are living in a digital gold age and consumers… are the beneficiaries. Consumers ... A Flag On the Play: Gigi Sohn Commits a Copyright Foul
Chairman Wheeler’s new set-top box proposal: from unmitigated disaster to plain old disaster
Imagine if you will… that a federal regulatory agency were to decide that the iPhone ecosystem was too constraining and too expensive; that consumers — who had otherwise voted for iPhones with their dollars — were being harmed by the fact that the platform was not “open” enough. Such an agency might resolve (on the ... Chairman Wheeler’s new set-top box proposal: from unmitigated disaster to plain old disaster
Sixth Circuit’s Decision Rejecting FCC Preemption of State Restrictions on Municipal Broadband Ownership Strikes a Blow in Favor of the Rule of Law (But a Broader Problem Remains)
The American concept of “the rule of law” (see here) is embodied in the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and in the constitutional principles of separation of powers, an independent judiciary, a government under law, and equality of all before the law (see here). It holds that the executive ... Sixth Circuit’s Decision Rejecting FCC Preemption of State Restrictions on Municipal Broadband Ownership Strikes a Blow in Favor of the Rule of Law (But a Broader Problem Remains)
No, The FCC Should Not Have the Power to Cancel Contracts
Copyright law, ever a sore point in some quarters, has found a new field of battle in the FCC’s recent set-top box proposal. At the request of members of Congress, the Copyright Office recently wrote a rather thorough letter outlining its view of the FCC’s proposal on rightsholders. In sum, the CR’s letter was an ... No, The FCC Should Not Have the Power to Cancel Contracts
Our amicus brief supporting en banc review of the court’s Open Internet Order decision
Last week the International Center for Law & Economics and I filed an amicus brief in the DC Circuit in support of en banc review of the court’s decision to uphold the FCC’s 2015 Open Internet Order. In our previous amicus brief before the panel that initially reviewed the OIO, we argued, among other things, that In order to justify ... Our amicus brief supporting en banc review of the court’s Open Internet Order decision
