Skip to main content
Technology | Academics | Policy - Home
  • Topics
    • Topics

    • Topics OverviewOverview
    • Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
      • Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

      • Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning OverviewOverview
      • Artificial Intelligence Policy
      • Ethics of Artificial Intelligence
      • Generative AI
    • Cybersecurity
      • Cybersecurity

      • Cybersecurity OverviewOverview
      • Cyber Peace / Cyber Warfare
      • Election Security
    • Impact of Tech on Society
      • Impact of Tech on Society

      • Impact of Tech on Society OverviewOverview
      • Future of Work
      • Tech’s Impact on Economic Equity
      • Tech’s Impact on Racial and Gender Equity
    • Innovation and Economic Impact
    • Intellectual Property and Open Source
      • Intellectual Property and Open Source

      • Intellectual Property and Open Source OverviewOverview
      • Copyright and Trademarks
      • Open Source
      • Patents
    • Networks and Infrastructure
      • Networks and Infrastructure

      • Networks and Infrastructure OverviewOverview
      • Broadband and Wireless Technologies
      • Cloud Computing
      • Internet
      • Net Neutrality
    • Platforms and Platform Regulation
      • Platforms and Platform Regulation

      • Platforms and Platform Regulation OverviewOverview
      • Antitrust / Competition
      • Content Moderation/Section 230
      • Disinformation / Misinformation
      • Freedom of Speech
      • Media and Content
    • Privacy
      • Privacy

      • Privacy OverviewOverview
      • Cross-Border Data Transfers
  • Scholars
  • Events
  • For the Media
    • For the Media

    • Media OverviewMedia Overview
    • Fact Sheets
    • Press Releases
  • About TAP
  • Subscribe to our Newsletter

Breadcrumbs

Go up a level to Home is the parent page of

  • Share Historic FCC Vote will Protect the Future of America's Economy and Democracy via Facebook
  • Share Historic FCC Vote will Protect the Future of America's Economy and Democracy via Twitter
  • Share Historic FCC Vote will Protect the Future of America's Economy and Democracy via Email
  • Share Historic FCC Vote will Protect the Future of America's Economy and Democracy via LinkedIn
  • Share Historic FCC Vote will Protect the Future of America's Economy and Democracy via Pinterest
BLOG POST

Historic FCC Vote will Protect the Future of America's Economy and Democracy

Publication Date: March 06, 2015 3 minute read
Written By

Barbara van Schewick

Barbara van SchewickTAP Scholar
  • Networks and Infrastructure
  • Net Neutrality

Today [February 26, 2015], the FCC voted to adopt strong network neutrality rules based on Title II of the Communications Act. Here is my statement:

"Today's vote is among the greatest public interest victories in U.S. history. The FCC's strong rules banning blocking, throttling and paid prioritization will help protect innovation, economic growth, and democratic discourse in America. These bright-line rules will provide certainty to the market, keep the costs of regulation low, and limit regulatory overreach. Most importantly, they ensure that every American -- no matter the size of their wallets or the color of their skin -- has an equal chance to innovate and reach people online. By keeping the costs of innovation low, the FCC protects the Internet version of the American dream. For the first time, network neutrality rules apply equally to fixed and mobile networks, ensuring that Internet users are protected no matter how they access the Internet.

Today's vote shows that our voices matter. One year ago, today's decision seemed impossible. Large and powerful companies fought hard to end net neutrality. But millions of Americans – Internet users, start-ups, small businesses, artists, scholars, civil rights organizations, public interest groups and many others – organized to protect the future of the Internet. They took to the streets, used every tool the Internet has to offer, and submitted a record breaking four million comments to the FCC -- and the agency listened.

The good news is that the FCC's rules will likely be upheld in court. The agency's decision to reclassify Internet service as a common carrier under Title II of the Communications Act puts the rules on a solid legal foundation. By coupling reclassification with forbearance, the FCC has adopted a light regulatory touch that preserves Internet service providers' incentives to invest.

Thanks to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler's vision, the FCC now has the tools to protect a free and open Internet. Chairman Wheeler was willing to listen to the public and had the courage to adjust his approach to pursue the right legal path. Commissioners Clyburn and Rosenworcel's consistent and passionate support for a free and open Internet paved the way to today's victory. The vote would not have been possible without those members of Congress who called upon the FCC to pursue reclassification when it was politically risky to do so and who worked tirelessly for strong net neutrality rules, including Senators Ed Markey, Al Franken, Ron Wyden, Charles Schumer, Corey Booker, Richard Blumenthal, Elizabeth Warren, Angus King, Kristen Gillibrand, Bernie Sanders, and Representatives Keith Ellison, Anna Eshoo, Nancy Pelosi, and many others."

The preceding is republished on TAP with permission by its author, Barbara van Schewick, Director, Stanford Center for Internet and Society (CIS) and Associate Professor of Law at Stanford Law School. “Historic FCC Vote will Protect the Future of America's Economy and Democracy” was originally published February 26, 2015 on Professor van Schewick’s CIS blog.

  • Share Historic FCC Vote will Protect the Future of America's Economy and Democracy via Facebook
  • Share Historic FCC Vote will Protect the Future of America's Economy and Democracy via Twitter
  • Share Historic FCC Vote will Protect the Future of America's Economy and Democracy via Email
  • Share Historic FCC Vote will Protect the Future of America's Economy and Democracy via LinkedIn

Related Blog Posts

BLOG POST

The Quantified Worker: Professor Ifeoma Ajunwa’s Research on Workplace Surveillance and Automated Hiring Systems

Publication Date: June 29, 2023
Emory Law Professor Ifeoma Ajunwa discusses her new book, The Quantified Worker, Law and Technology in the Modern Workplace. She explains how the workforce science of today goes far beyond increasing efficiency and threatens to erase individual personhood.
Written By
TAP Staff Blogger
Featuring

 Ifeoma  Ajunwa

Ifeoma AjunwaTAP Scholar
  • Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
  • Ethics of Artificial Intelligence
  • Impact of Tech on Society
  • Future of Work
  • Tech’s Impact on Economic Equity
  • Tech’s Impact on Racial and Gender Equity
  • Artificial Intelligence Policy
BLOG POST

Recent Papers from TAP Scholars

Publication Date: January 15, 2021
A selection of articles recently written by TAP scholars explore AI and the impact on privacy, how to safeguard privacy and security in an interconnected world, digital platforms and antitrust, and patent reform to support innovation.
Written By
TAP Staff Blogger
  • Privacy
  • Networks and Infrastructure
  • Internet
  • Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
  • Antitrust / Competition
  • Patents
  • Intellectual Property and Open Source
BLOG POST

The Most Read TAP Blogs from 2019

Publication Date: December 31, 2019
Take a look at the top viewed blog posts from this past year that have been written by TAP scholars.
Written By
TAP Staff Blogger
  • Internet
  • Privacy
  • Cloud Computing
  • Media and Content
  • Broadband and Wireless Technologies
  • Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
  • Networks and Infrastructure
See All Blog Posts
Technology | Academics | Policy - Home
Follow us on TwitterLink us on LinkedinLike us on FacebookWatch us on youtube
  • Blog Posts
  • Academic Article Summaries
  • Fact Sheets
  • Hot Topic

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Name
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • Terms of Use
  • Feedback
© Copyright 2023