FCC’s Title II Order Will Hurt Consumers and Is Unlikely to Survive in Court, Says ITIF

WASHINGTON—Following a vote by the Federal Communications Commission to regulate broadband Internet service under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), the leading think tank for science and technology policy, released the following statement from Joe Kane, ITIF’s director of broadband and spectrum policy:

The FCC's decision to impose Title II regulation on the Internet marks a significant setback for consumers who rely on broadband. The new regulations subject the competitive broadband landscape to rules that are anticonsumer, vague, and detrimental to the long-run benefits of connectivity.

Contrary to baseless sloganeering, the FCC’s action today does nothing to promote the open Internet. Rather, it will erode the investment and innovation that have so far delivered a free and open Internet for consumers.

The Order will now be challenged in court, and it is unlikely to survive. The FCC should have been serving consumers from the start, rather than indulging in this partisan frolic that is inconsistent with the law and the public interest.