Statement by Steve Pociask, President of the American Consumer Institute
Today, the FCC voted 3 to 2 in favor of imposing new Internet regulation. While the FCC order puts to rest, at least temporarily, the hotly debated topic of net neutrality, the imposition of Internet regulations are in sharp contrast to a recent court decision that found limits to the FCC’s authority, as well as in sharp contrast to warnings by investors and concerns by members of Congress. The new rules, if aggressively imposed, could well discourage investment, raise consumer prices and increase rent-seeking, as companies will use the FCC process for regulatory advantage, instead of using the marketplace for competitive advantage.
In the short term, we hope the FCC uses restraint in its promulgation of these new rules and, longer term, call for Congress to clarify what role, if any, the FCC should have over the regulation of competitive markets.