In-House Counsel

Justice Department Opposes Net Neutrality Regulation

The United States Department of Justice has entered the Network Neutrality debate by filing these Comments in the FCC's Broadband Industry Practices docket. The Justice Department argues that the broadband market is growing and competitive and the premature regulation could stifle investment and innovation.

This filing is particularly significant because the Justice Department has not weighed in on this issue previously and the Antitrust Division has lengthy experience in the telecommunications field through its oversight of the AT&T consent decree. Accordingly, the Justice Department's opinion carries great weight among policymakers and is typically considered thorough and fair.

Combined with the Federal Trade Commission's report on Broadband Connectivity Competition Policy, we now have both major antitrust authorities concluding that Network Neutrality regulation is unnecessary and potentially harmful. Hopefully, the leaders in Congress are paying attention.

Full post as published by Cisco High Tech Policy Blog on September 17, 2007 (boomark / email).