Skip to main content

Net neutrality doesn’t violate Bill of Rights, FCC says

net neutrality timeline fcc tom wheeler 2
Energy Commerce/Flickr
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has said that its net neutrality rules do not infringe on the First Amendment rights of Internet service providers (ISPs) as they are “simply conduits for the speech of others.”

ISPs had challenged the FCC’s reclassifying of Internet access under Title II to prevent blocking and throttling, claiming that it violated their constitutional rights. The FCC countered by stating in its filing on Monday that Internet users do not interpret their Internet access as being the message of their ISP. Rather, the ISP merely delivers content and is classified the same way as a telephone company.

Recommended Videos

“When a user directs her browser to the New York Times or Wall Street Journal editorial page, she has no reason to think that the views expressed there are those of her broadband provider,” said the report.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

“Instead, when providing Broadband Internet Access Service, broadband providers function (and are understood by their users to function) simply as conduits for the speech of others, not as speakers themselves.”

“The Supreme Court has repeatedly cautioned that common carriers do not share the free speech rights of broadcasters, newspapers, or others engaged in First Amendment activity.”

The FCC said that ISPs, if they wish, can distance themselves from speech they don’t agree with by communicating that message to their customers through their website or on bills. The Commission added that regardless of whether or not First Amendment rights applied to ISPs in this case, the net neutrality rules would still stand.

Throughout the net neutrality debate, several ISPs have argued that their constitutional rights would be violated by creating new rules governing Internet speeds and access. Verizon, for example, first made such a claim back in 2012.

A Texas provider called Alamo is currently challenging the net neutrality rules, arguing that an ISP is more like a cable provider that chooses what television channels to carry. The FCC again disagreed, saying that cable providers have limited technological capacity in offering channels. Similar challenges do not exist for ISPs to hinder access to any legal Internet sites. A hearing for further arguments will be held on December 4.

Jonathan Keane
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Jonathan is a freelance technology journalist living in Dublin, Ireland. He's previously written for publications and sites…
PayPal vs. Venmo vs. Cash App vs. Apple Cash: which app should you use?
PayPal, Venmo, Cash App, and Apple Wallet apps on an iPhone.

We’re getting closer every day to an entirely cashless society. While some folks may still carry around a few bucks for emergencies, electronic payments are accepted nearly everywhere, and as mobile wallets expand, even traditional credit and debit cards are starting to fall by the wayside.

That means many of us are past the days of tossing a few bills onto the table to pay our share of a restaurant tab or slipping our pal a couple of bucks to help them out. Now, even those things are more easily doable from our smartphones than our physical wallets.

Read more
How to change margins in Google Docs
Laptop Working from Home

When you create a document in Google Docs, you may need to adjust the space between the edge of the page and the content --- the margins. For instance, many professors have requirements for the margin sizes you must use for college papers.

You can easily change the left, right, top, and bottom margins in Google Docs and have a few different ways to do it.

Read more
What is Microsoft Teams? How to use the collaboration app
A close-up of someone using Microsoft Teams on a laptop for a videoconference.

Online team collaboration is the new norm as companies spread their workforce across the globe. Gone are the days of primarily relying on group emails, as teams can now work together in real time using an instant chat-style interface, no matter where they are.

Using Microsoft Teams affords video conferencing, real-time discussions, document sharing and editing, and more for companies and corporations. It's one of many collaboration tools designed to bring company workers together in an online space. It’s not designed for communicating with family and friends, but for colleagues and clients.

Read more