FCC closes comments on ‘open internet protections’ rulemaking

The R Street Institute, a center-right Washington think tank, has likewise voiced opposition to the FCC’s proposed rulemaking. In comments filed last December, the group claimed the order uses the “guise of net neutrality [to] impose a heavy-handed common carriage regulatory framework that would stifle innovation, harm competition and counteract important investments the FCC has made to bridge the digital divide.”

The R Street Institute argued in 2017 that the Title II of the Communications Act “is a complex scheme of regulations designed for common carriers in an era when competition between multiple service providers was thought to be impossible.” With an eye on encouraging competition between internet service providers, the group now supports governance of broadband via the Telecommunications Act of 1996, a law signed by former President Bill Clinton that, according to one Congressional report, was designed to promote competition, loosen regulations and speed along development of new technologies.