The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction over the areas of broadband access, fair competition, radio frequency use, media responsibility, public safety, and homeland security.
Mary Marsha Blackburn is an American politician and businesswoman serving as the senior United States senator from Tennessee. Blackburn was first elected to the Senate in 2018. A member of the Republican Party, Blackburn was a state senator from 1999 to 2003 and represented Tennessee's 7th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2003 to 2019, during which time the National Journal rated her among the House's most conservative members.
Municipal broadband is broadband Internet access offered by public entities. Services are often provided either fully or partially by local governments to residents within certain areas or jurisdictions. Common connection technologies include unlicensed wireless, licensed wireless, and fiber-optic cable. Many cities that previously deployed Wi-Fi based solutions, like Comcast and Charter Spectrum, are switching to municipal broadband. Municipal fiber-to-the-home networks are becoming more prominent because of increased demand for modern audio and video applications, which are increasing bandwidth requirements by 40% per year. The purpose of municipal broadband is to provide internet access to those who cannot afford internet from internet service providers and local governments are increasingly investing in said services for their communities.
NCTA – The Internet & Television Association, formerly known as the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), is a prominent trade association representing the American broadband and cable television industries. As of 2011, the NCTA represented more than 90% of the U.S. cable market, over 200 cable networks, and various equipment suppliers and service providers to the cable industry.
Gigi Beth Sohn is an American lawyer who is the co-founder of Public Knowledge. She previously worked for the Ford Foundation. In 2013, Tom Wheeler hired her into a senior staff position at the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC). She left there shortly after Donald Trump's election in 2016. In July 2017, she held fellowship positions with Georgetown Law's Institute for Technology Law & Policy, Open Society Foundations, and Mozilla.
In the United States, net neutrality, the principle that Internet service providers (ISPs) treat all data on the Internet the same, and not discriminate, has been an issue of contention between network users and access providers since the 1990s. With net neutrality, ISPs may not intentionally block, slow down, or charge money for specific online content. Without net neutrality, ISPs may prioritize certain types of traffic, meter others, or potentially block traffic from specific services, while charging consumers for various tiers of service.
Robert Edward Latta is an American politician who is the United States representative for Ohio's 5th congressional district, serving since 2007. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district includes many of Toledo's suburbs, as well as Findlay, Bowling Green, Napoleon, Sylvania, Defiance and Van Wert. It also includes a sliver of Toledo itself.
The Federal Communications Commission Open Internet Order of 2010 is a set of regulations that move towards the establishment of the internet neutrality concept. Some opponents of net neutrality believe such internet regulation would inhibit innovation by preventing providers from capitalizing on their broadband investments and reinvesting that money into higher quality services for consumers. Supporters of net neutrality argue that the presence of content restrictions by network providers represents a threat to individual expression and the rights of the First Amendment. Open Internet strikes a balance between these two camps by creating a compromised set of regulations that treats all internet traffic in "roughly the same way". In Verizon v. FCC, the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit vacated portions of the order that the court determined could only be applied to common carriers.
Ajit Varadaraj Pai is an American lawyer who served as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from 2017 to 2021. He has been a partner at the private-equity firm Searchlight Capital since April 2021.
Jessica Rosenworcel is an American attorney serving as a member and chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). She originally served on the FCC from May 11, 2012, to January 3, 2017, and was confirmed by the Senate for an additional term on August 3, 2017. She was named to serve as acting chairwoman in January 2021 and designated permanent chairwoman in October 2021. She was confirmed for another term by the Senate in December 2021. Rosenworcel's current term runs for five years beginning July 1, 2020.
Thomas Edgar Wheeler is an American businessman and former government official. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 31st Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.
Verizon Communications Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission, 740 F.3d 623, was a case at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit vacating portions of the FCC Open Internet Order of 2010, which the court determined could only be applied to common carriers and not to Internet service providers. The case was initiated by Verizon, which would have been subjected to the proposed FCC rules, though they had not yet gone into effect. The case has been regarded as an important precedent on whether the FCC can regulate network neutrality.
United States Telecom Association v. FCC, 825 F. 3d 674, was a case at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upholding an action by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) the previous year in which broadband Internet was reclassified as a "telecommunications service" under the Communications Act of 1934, after which Internet service providers (ISPs) were required to follow common carrier regulations.
On 28 March 2017, the United States House of Representatives passed a resolution of disapproval to overturn the Broadband Consumer Privacy Proposal privacy law by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and was expected to be approved by United States' President Donald Trump. It was passed with 215 Republican votes against 205 votes of disapproval.
Brendan Thomas Carr is an American lawyer who has served as a member of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) since 2017. Appointed to the position by Donald Trump, Carr previously served as the agency's general counsel and as an aide to FCC commissioner Ajit Pai. In private practice, Carr formerly worked as a telecommunications attorney at Wiley Rein.
"Net Neutrality" is the first segment of the HBO news satire television series Last Week Tonight with John Oliver devoted to net neutrality in the United States. It aired for 13 minutes on June 1, 2014, as part of the fifth episode of Last Week Tonight's first season.
Geoffrey Adam Starks is an American lawyer serving as a Commissioner of the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC). He was nominated by President Donald Trump to succeed Mignon Clyburn who announced on April 19, 2018, that she was going to step down on June 6, 2018. Starks was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate on January 2, 2019. He was sworn into office on January 30, 2019. Starks is affiliated with the Democratic Party. He was renominated by President Joe Biden for a new term and was confirmed by the Senate on September 30, 2023.
Mozilla Corp. v. FCC, 940 F. 3d 1 was a ruling the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 2019 related to net neutrality in the United States. The case centered on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)'s decision in 2017 to rollback its prior 2015 Open Internet Order, reclassifying Internet services as an information service rather than as a common carrier, deregulating principles of net neutrality that had been put in place with the 2015 order. The proposed rollback had been publicly criticized during the open period of discussion, and following the FCC's issuing of the rollback, several states and Internet companies sued the FCC. These cases were consolidated into the one led by the Mozilla Corporation.
Nathan Simington is a commissioner of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Simington previously served as a senior advisor at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. Prior to that, he had worked as an associate at Mayer Brown, Kirkland & Ellis, and Chapman and Cutler, and as legal counsel at Brightstar Corporation.
The political positions of Joe Manchin encompass the established political and economic positions taken by Joe Manchin, the senior United States senator from West Virginia. Manchin's positions are reflected in his voting record, public speeches, and interviews. A member of the Democratic Party, Manchin is characterized by his self-described moderate beliefs.
