View Rule

In January of 2014, the D.C. Circuit in Verizon v. FCC struck down the no-blocking and no-unreasonable discrimination rules contained in the 2010 Open Internet Order, invalidating the Commission’s attempt to create legally enforceable standards to preserve the open Internet. In response to Verizon, in May 2014, the Commission released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (2014 Open Internet NPRM) that sought comment on a fundamental question: What is the right public policy to ensure that the Internet remains open?  After careful review of the record generated by the 2014 Open Internet NPRM, the Commission issued a combined Report and Order on Remand, Declaratory Ruling, and Order in this proceeding. The Report and Order established bright-line rules banning three specific practices that invariably harm the open Internet: Blocking, Throttling, and Paid Prioritization, and applied those rules to both fixed and mobile broadband Internet access service.  In addition, the Report and Order put in place a general conduct standard to prevent a broadband service provider from unreasonably interfering with or disadvantaging the ability of end users to access content, applications, services or devices offered by edge providers.  The Report and Order also strengthened the transparency rules that remained in place following Verizon.  

In order to provide the best possible legal foundation for these rules, the Commission’s Declaratory Ruling reclassified broadband Internet access service as a telecommunications service subject to title II of the Communications Act.  Finally, in order to tailor title II to the 21st century broadband ecosystem, the Commission issued an Order forbearing from the majority of title II provisions, leaving in place a light-touch regime that will support regulatory action while simultaneously encouraging broadband investment, innovation, and deployment.