The Emperor’s New Clothes: “Rate Regulation” as an Excuse to Gut FCC Consumer Protection Authority

[Commentary] Recently we highlighted the rapid effort to pass the “No Rate Regulation of Broadband Internet Access Act" (HR 2666) as a poorly crafted effort to prohibit rate regulation. We pointed out a variety of options to mitigate the consequences of the broad sweeping language. Consequences which we allowed were perhaps unintended. It turns out we can now see they are very much intended.

House Rules Committee announced they will be bringing an amended version of the bill to the floor as soon as the week of April 11. Boiled down: the effect of this bill as it is currently written authorizes a variety of consumer rip-offs. If that is not what its authors intend, then it must be defeated or amended. On its face, the bill has been cleverly rewritten to work in a couple of specific carve-outs, such as exempting enforcement of the “no paid prioritization” rule or protecting interconnection between network providers. Taken individually, these added provisions look at first glance like an attempt at compromise. But it actually exposes what we fear is the bill’s true intent: The outright authorization of broadband Internet access service providers’ ability to charge monopoly rates - and taking the cop who exists to protect consumers from this off the beat.