Internet groups in tricky position over US net neutrality

[Commentary] Be careful what you wish for. That is the message for companies such as Google and Facebook as US regulators move ahead with a plan to enshrine the idea of an open Internet in regulation.

On the face of it, the big Internet companies will have scored a significant victory if the Federal Communication Commission votes, as expected, for its new “net neutrality” rules. The regime is intended to make sure broadband and other network providers cannot block or otherwise hold Internet services to ransom. The problem comes with the form the rules will take. With heavy nudging from the White House, the FCC has opted to repurpose an authority it was given under an old telecoms law, known as Title II, to make it apply to the Internet era. This is where things could become dicey for companies such as Google and Facebook. Who knows how some future FCC would interpret its new Title II powers, or whether a court would order a different implementation of the law. Price regulation of the internet’s interconnection agreements would always be a looming threat. It is not just the impact in the US itself that is at stake. There is also the question of what message US regulators are about to send to the rest of the world. The risk is that Washington will be seen to be giving a nod of approval to the idea of extending traditional telecoms rate regulations to the Internet.