The Battle for an Open Internet is Not Over

Congratulations on a hard-fought victory on net neutrality this week. Unfortunately, much hard work protecting the open Internet remains to be done. The longstanding fight to protect the Open Internet will continue to be hashed out in court rooms, on Capitol Hill and Federal Communications Commission over the next few years. We need to be diligent about staying on top of this issue, and ensure that the progress made is not lost.

Last mile providers were seeking to take maximum advantage of their dominance and market power, and were finally told they could no longer do so. That is great news. But as we solve this huge problem, we need to make sure that we protect the whole Internet ecosystem. We do that by standing up for an open Internet, but we also do that by teaching people how the Internet works -- because what we DON’T need is FCC jurisdiction and new regulation across the entire competitive Internet. Last mile access to the Internet isn’t like the rest of the Internet, and it must be treated consistent with its attributes. We also need to make sure that ‘interconnection’ isn’t a slippery slope that will ultimately add a FCC regulatory framework around the rest of the competitive Internet, and that’s going to take years of education and effort in courtrooms and in Congressional offices.