Intellectual Property Law

Last fall, the Federal Communications Commission proposed rules for "Net Neutrality"?a set of regulations intended to help innovation and free speech continue to thrive on the Internet.

But is the FCC?s version of Net Neutrality the real deal? Or is it a fake?

Buried in the FCC?s rules is a deeply problematic loophole. Open Internet principles, the FCC writes, 'do not… apply to activities such as the unlawful distribution of copyrighted works.'

For years, the entertainment industry has used that innocent-sounding phrase — "unlawful distribution of copyrighted works" — to pressure Internet service providers around the world to act as copyright cops — to surveil the Internet for supposed copyright violations, and then censor or punish the accused users.

From the beginning, a central goal of the Net Neutrality movement has been to prevent corporations from interfering with the Internet in this way — so why does the FCC?s version of Net Neutrality specifically allow them to do so?

Tell the FCC that if it wants to police the Internet, it first needs to demonstrate that it can protect Internet users and innovators by standing up to powerful industry lobbyists. Sign your name here to demand that the copyright-enforcement loophole be removed.