With the appointment of Ajit Pai as the new Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) Chairman, it will be interesting to see whether changes will emerge in the FCC’s official position on net neutrality given Pai’s prior criticism of net neutrality. Advocates of the FCC’s net neutrality rules (upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia against challenges by AT&T Inc. and other telecommunications companies) argue that the rules protect the free flow of Internet data by prohibiting Internet Service Providers (“ISPs”) from discriminating against (legal) content passing through their networks. Advocates further contend that the absence of net neutrality (i.e. open Internet) regulations would not only affect end-users (e.g. subscribers) but also would have a substantial impact on businesses who engage in e-commerce as well as musicians and artists who promote their art directly to consumers.
Given Mudd Law’s representation of online businesses, artists, musicians, and others engaged in online commerce and communications, the Firm intends to stay abreast of policy developments and advise its clients accordingly.