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Article snippet: Perhaps no topic has dominated the telecoms debate move over the past decade than the politically charged issue of net neutrality. While everyone agrees that it is important to have a free and open internet, the crux of the problem has always been legal—that is, does the Federal Communications Commission have sufficient authority to protect consumers under its previous bi-partisan “light touch” approach under Title I of the Communications Act, or must it invoke the nuclear option and subject the internet to a law intended to govern the old Ma Bell monopoly by reclassifying broadband internet access as common carrier telecommunications service? According to the D.C. Circuit in 2010, the FCC had ample legal authority to protect consumers under Title I, provided it followed a detailed “roadmap” set forth by the court. Unable to resist the siren call of price regulation, however, in 2015 the Obama administration opted for reclassification, raising significant due process concerns in the process. Seeking to reverse this massive regulatory overreach, the current FCC under the leadership of Chairman Ajit Pai recently initiated a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in which it is proposing to roll back the excesses of his predecessor. Under long-standing administrative law, the FCC is well within its rights to reverse course, so long as it provides a reasonable reason for its change in policy direction. As part of this process—particularly given the short time frame for its po... Link to the full article to read more