This article was published after the 2016 court decision upholding the Title II
order.
http://www.investors.com/news/technology/could-frisky-fcc-regulate-facebook-microsoft-apple-under-title-ii/
Could Frisky FCC Regulate Facebook, Microsoft, Apple Under Title II?
REINHARDT KRAUSE
If federal regulators are emboldened by an appeals court victory on net
neutrality, more broadband regulation may be coming to internet companies such
as Facebook (FB), Microsoft (MSFT) and Alphabet's (GOOGL) Google, not just to
internet service providers.
The Federal Communications Commission in February 2015 reclassified broadband
services as a public utility in order to enforce net neutrality rules under
Title II of the 1934 Communications Act. The agency also expanded net
neutrality rules to wireless networks for the first time.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Tuesday
upheld the FCC’s authority under Title II-based rules. In a split 2-1 ruling,
the three-judge panel supported the FCC’s position. One judge dissented in part
but agreed that the agency had the authority to reclassify broadband internet
as a telecom service.
The FCC’s legal arguments open the door to regulating any internet-based
services -- such as Apple’s (AAPL) Facetime, Microsoft’s Skype or Facebook’s
WhatsApp -- that connect to the public switched network (PSN), says Anna-Maria
Kovacs, a visiting senior policy scholar at Georgetown Center for Business and
Public Policy.
“By the FCC’s and court’s logic, how can platforms like Facebook, (Apple's)
FaceTime, Vonage (VG), Skype, YouTube, Gmail or even Uber be anything other
than telecommunications services?” said Kovacs, who also is founder of
consultancy Strategic Choices.
“The D.C. Circuit’s affirmation of the FCC’s Open Internet invites edge
providers to contort their services to attempt to evade classification under
Title II,” Kovacs added in an email.
The new rules bar ISPs from throttling, blocking or prioritizing web traffic.
The FCC also created a general conduct standard that ISPs cannot harm consumers
or “service edge” providers, such as Google or Netflix (NFLX).
ISPs such as AT&T (T), Verizon Communications (VZ) and Comcast (CMCSA) also
face the possibility that a future FCC could expand upon the Title II-based
rules. The appeals court victory opens the door to broadband price regulation,
as well as FCC orders that require ISPs to share “last mile” network
connections with rivals under wholesale agreements, says Oppenheimer analyst
Tim Horan.
Horan, however, says “odds of FCC mission creep are low. Given the FCC’s need
to balance further regulation with ensuring investment in networks, it’s
unlikely to pursue additional regulation,” he said in a research report.
