NEW BRITAIN, CT – Today, Consumer Counsel Claire Coleman applauded the Federal Communications Commission’s (“FCC”) adoption of new rules to address discriminatory practices or acts of broadband or internet service providers that impact access to their services, as directed by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed into law on November 15, 2021. The rules prevent both intentional discrimination and disparate impact practices based on income levels, race, ethnicity, color, religion and national origin.
“In order to ensure reliable and affordable internet is accessible for all, it is key to identify and eliminate the existence of each and every potential barrier that stands in the way of connectivity,” said Consumer Counsel Claire Coleman. “With this rule announcement, there are now important legal parameters for preventing demographic discrimination throughout the industry. My team played an active role advocating for all consumers and focused on rectifying longstanding historical inequities of digital access, adoption, and deployment throughout this process – I am pleased to see the impact we were able to have on the final rules. These are the first federal anti-discrimination provisions for internet and broadband access of the digital era.”
The new rules provide answers and guidance on several questions, that until today, had not been determined within the broadband and internet sector by any oversight authority, including how to define digital discrimination of access and which actions constitute digital discrimination. Additionally, the new rules create a method for the FCC to accept complaints regarding digital discrimination of access and provide the FCC with the enforcement authority to investigate claims and penalize proponents of digital discrimination.
While the FCC is the entity that processes formal complaints under the digital discrimination rules, state agencies, like the Office of State Broadband within the Office of Consumer Counsel, may conduct a preliminary review of any complaint about a discriminatory action or practice of an internet service provider and subsequently file complaints on a consumer’s behalf. The rules will go into effect 60 days after publication in the Federal Register with the exception of rules that require Office of Management and Budget review under the Paperwork Reduction Act.
Over the course of the FCC’s investigative proceedings, the Office of State Broadband, within the Office of Consumer Counsel, provided guidance and recommendations through comments and submissions to the FCC, and were subsequently cited in the FCC’s Final Rulemaking Report and Order on seven separate occasions.
For more information, see OCC’s Consumer Alert here.
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