FCC

What’s the Problem with Usage-Based Billing?

By James Erwin Usage-based billing, or UBB for short, is common practice across most industries. You get billed for the amount of electricity you use at home, the amount of gas burned to heat your apartment, and even the number of hours a lawyer works for you. The broadband industry…

Net Neutrality May Have Slowed Down the Internet

Amid much hue and cry, apocalyptic predictions, and advocacy from “comedian” John Oliver’s HBO show, the FCC revoked the Open Internet Order in 2017 (effective 2018). Widely promoted as “Net Neutrality,” the policy had been adopted by the FCC in 2014 after public pressure by then-President Obama,…

At FCC, Commissioner Geoffrey Starks Works Well Across The Aisle – But Will It Last?

Last month, President Biden nominated Anna Gomez for the vacant fifth seat on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and renominated current commissioners Brendan Carr and Geoffrey Starks for another term. Digital Liberty previously covered Brendan Carr’s achievements as the senior Republican commissioner, including his successful bipartisan work at the…

At FCC, Commissioner Brendan Carr Proves That Bipartisanship Still Works

Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore, Flickr PRO Yesterday, President Biden announced his slate of nominees to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Commissioners Brendan Carr and Geoffrey Starks were renominated for another term, and newcomer Anna Gomez was nominated for the fifth seat that has been vacant since former Chairman…

Canadian Government Imposes Restrictive Television Speech Rules on the Internet

The Canadian government took a dramatic step to restrict the free speech rights of online streaming platforms by passing the Online Streaming Act, popularly known by our neighbors to the north as Bill C-11. This bill places most online content creators under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications…

Spectrum is More Important than Middle Mile

By James Erwin It has been 30 years since Congress granted the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) the authority to auction radiofrequency spectrum for commercial use, and Congress has carelessly allowed auction authority to lapse. Making matters worse, Congress’s failure to reach an agreement is due to the Department of Defense’s…

Americans for Tax Reform & Digital Liberty File Comments to FCC on Best Practices for Preventing and Eliminating Digital Discrimination

Americans for Tax Reform and Digital Liberty jointly filed comments on February 21st with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding the agency’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Digital Discrimination. These comments explore the pitfalls that would result from the agency’s adoption of a disparate impact standard to measure digital discrimination, as opposed to a…

The Senate Should Pass the House Spectrum Bill

Without Congressional reauthorization, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will lose its general spectrum auction authority at the end of the fiscal year on September 30. Congress has never allowed this to happen, and it should not do so now. Taking the initiative, the House of Representatives has overwhelmingly passed a…