FCC Probe of Zero-Rated Services Being Watched Worldwide, FSF Says
The FCC’s probe of zero rating is being watched across the world, and the agency should make clear that zero-rated practices are permissable, the Free State Foundation said in a Wednesday blog post. “Current FCC ‘fact-finding’ investigations concerning the lawfulness…
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of certain zero-rated services are raising the specter of potential U.S. regulation, even though the FCC has refused to adopt a blanket prohibition of such services and the FCC Chairman previously praised T-Mobile's Binge On,” the group said. “Even the pendency of this ‘fact-finding’ mission creates unwelcome speculation domestically and internationally concerning harmful regulatory intervention, particularly since these inquiries tend to remain open for months if not years.” Other countries have started to prohibit zero-rated programs, including India’s "unfortunate" clamp down on Facebook's Free Basics program “that was designed to expand Internet usage in the country, which presently has a broadband penetration rate of only 22 percent of the population,” FSF said. “Because of U.S. influence abroad regarding telecom policy matters, the U.S. government must be doubly cautious before intervening with regulatory restraints that adversely impact the Internet subscribership and infrastructure deployment. … It is time for the U.S. government to lead by getting out of the way of a form of Internet innovation that benefits consumers, most certainly including low-income consumers.” FSF President Randolph May and Visiting Fellow Gregory Vogt wrote the post.