The common carrier exemption in the FTC Act...
The common carrier exemption in the FTC Act should be eliminated, FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez said Monday at a University of Colorado Law School Silicon Flatirons event. “Absolutely,” Ramirez said when asked about eliminating the exemption. “Given where we are…
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today, it’s an exemption that no longer makes sense. I would support getting rid of that.” The three other FTC commissioners -- Republicans Maureen Ohlhausen and Joshua Wright and Democrat Julie Brill -- have all said the FTC would be capable of bringing enforcement action against common carriers to ensure net neutrality, with Wright saying the FTC would be better equipped than the FCC to handle such actions (CD Feb 3 p12). Ramirez has not been as vocal on the issue to this point. While still a commissioner in 2010, she did issue a concurring statement with Brill (http://1.usa.gov/1eiZb8W) in which they said, “An exemption from the Federal Trade Commission Act for ‘common carriers’ has impeded the FTC’s ability to take action against telecommunications service providers involved in unlawful practices. As a consequence, such companies -- which may profit handsomely from deceptive conduct -- have evaded FTC prosecution.” But before Monday, Ramirez had not commented on the issue since the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit decision vacating the FCC’s authority to impose net neutrality rules on broadband ISPs, which some argued might lead to the FTC playing an enhanced role in overseeing ISPs (CD Jan 15 p1).