FCC, Broadband Providers Hold More Regulatory Talks
Representatives from AT&T and the National Cable & Telecommunications Association spoke with key FCC personnel Tuesday about a regulatory framework for the Internet, reveals a disclosure filed with the commission.
According to the document, they discussed prohibitions against blocking lawful Internet content; standards for preventing harm to consumers or competition; and avenues for addressing complaints regarding Internet openness, among other issues.
The meeting is part of on-going talks between the FCC and industry to find a compromise on Internet regulation in lieu of the FCC's proposal to reclassify some parts of broadband as a telecommunications service, which would grant the FCC more regulatory authority over broadband providers.
The FCC's authority over broadband was put in doubt in the wake of an April federal appeals court decision that said the commission had overstepped its authority by cracking down on Comcast for violating the agency's open Internet principles.
Those at the meeting included AT&T Executive Vice President James Cicconi , NCTA CEO Kyle McSlarrow, Edward P. Lazarus, chief of staff to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, and Zachary Katz, deputy chief of the FCC's Office of Strategic Planning & Policy Analysis.
Some public interest groups have complained about such closed-door meetings. "Any 'compromise' that allows the powerful telecom and Internet companies to prioritize their content over all others is not real Net Neutrality; it's fake Net Neutrality," Free Press President Josh Silver said in a statement. "...The future of the Internet should not be decided in a back room."
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