FCC discrimination overview:
- Who: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced rules to prevent digital discrimination for access to broadband.
- Why: The rules were required by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and allow the FCC to investigate and protect customers from even unintentional discrimination of broadband access.
- Where: The FCC broadband announcement came from the agency’s Washington, D.C., office.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced new rules that are targeted at stopping digital discrimination related to access to broadband.
The rules are in response to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law of 2021’s requirements for the FCC to take up the topic. The new rules will allow the FCC to investigate and protect customers from even unintentional discrimination of broadband access.
The new rules allow the FCC to work with companies to solve issues, facilitate mediation and penalize companies if they violate rules. The FCC will have a consumer complaint portal and staff will meet monthly to assess trends in complaint patterns related to digital discrimination and it will create model policies and best practices to support states and local governments as they work to stop digital discrimination.
“The language is broad. But Congress was explicit—these rules have to ‘facilitate equal access to broadband,’ said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “As part of this goal, Congress also told us we need to prevent and eliminate digital discrimination of access.
“… As a result, we define digital discrimination to include disparate treatment and disparate impact. I believe this approach puts us both on the right side of history and the right side of the law.”
FCC broadband rule will look at discriminatory effect, not just if discrimination was intended
A controversial part of the new rules is a “disparate impact” standard that looks at ISP deployment practices that were discriminatory to communities rather than looking at “disparate treatment” based on if discrimination was intended, Law360 reported.
Commissioner Brendan Carr was one of two commission members who voted against the measure while three voted to approve it along party lines.
“The Biden Administration is taking away all the wrong lessons from its failed broadband policies,” Carr said. “Rather than righting the ship, the Biden Administration is going hard left. It is now blaming the private sector and free market capitalism itself for the Administration’s own policy shortfalls.”
The FCC announced in October that it will be reverting back to net neutrality rules created by the agency during the Obama administration.
Do you believe the FCC’s broadband discrimination protection will have the desired impact? Let us know in the comments.
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