The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal 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.
An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing,using,managing,or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms,such as commercial,community-owned,non-profit,or otherwise privately owned.
The fairness doctrine of the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC),introduced in 1949,was a policy that required the holders of broadcast licenses both to present controversial issues of public importance and to do so in a manner that fairly reflected differing viewpoints. In 1987,the FCC abolished the fairness doctrine,prompting some to urge its reintroduction through either Commission policy or congressional legislation. However,later the FCC removed the rule that implemented the policy from the Federal Register in August 2011.
James Enos Clyburn is an American politician and retired educator serving as a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina. He has served as House assistant Democratic leader since 2023 and from 2011 to 2019. He is a two-time majority whip,previously serving in the post from 2007 to 2011 and from 2019 to 2023.
Network neutrality,often referred to as net neutrality,is the principle that Internet service providers (ISPs) must treat all Internet communications equally,offering users and online content providers consistent rates irrespective of content,website,platform,application,type of equipment,source address,destination address,or method of communication.
Deborah Taylor Tate was a Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). She was nominated by President George W. Bush on November 9,2005,for the remainder of the term expiring June 30,2007. She was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate on December 21,2005,and sworn in as FCC Commissioner on January 3,2006. She has spoken out in favor of Digital Rights Management and suggested TV may be a contributing factor in childhood obesity.
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 Malcolm McDowell is a lawyer and lobbyist who served as a commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission from June 1,2006,to May 17,2013. He is currently a partner in the law firm Cooley LLP.
Julius Genachowski is an American lawyer and businessman. He became the Federal Communications Commission Chairman on June 29,2009. On March 22,2013,he announced he would be leaving the FCC in the coming weeks. On January 6,2014,it was announced that Genachowski had joined The Carlyle Group.
An inmate telephone system,also known as an Inmate Calling Service (ICS) or Inmate telephone service,is telephone service intended for use by inmates in correctional facilities in the United States. Telephone service for inmates allows for their rehabilitation by allowing consistent communication with their family and legal counsel while incarcerated.
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. Subsequently,she was named to serve as acting chair in January 2021,designated permanent chair in October 2021,and confirmed as such by the Senate in December 2021. Rosenworcel's 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.
Michael O'Rielly is a former commissioner of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC),an independent agency of the United States government. He was nominated by President Barack Obama in August 2013 and was confirmed on October 29,2013,taking office on November 4,2013. He was nominated to complete the term of outgoing commissioner Robert M. McDowell which ended on June 30,2014. He was then renominated and reconfirmed by the Senate.
The Federal-State Joint Conference on Advanced Telecommunications Services also known as the Section 706 Joint Conference on Advanced Services was created by the FCC in 1999,pursuant to section 410(b) of the Communications Act of 1934,with endorsement by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC). Section 706 refers to the Telecommunications act of 1996. In this section the code states that the FCC is to "encourage the deployment on a reasonable and timely basis of advanced telecommunications capability to all Americans." The Joint Conference is intended to serve as a forum for ongoing dialogue among the FCC,state regulators,and local and regional entities about the deployment of advanced telecommunications capabilities,and to identify a set of "Best Practices" that promote rapid deployment,particularly to benefit the underserved. The Joint Conference has held a series of field hearings across the country and has conducted Broadband Summits.
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.
Geoffrey Adam Starks is an American lawyer serving as a Commissioner of the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC). He was nominated by President 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. His term was to end July 1,2022.
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.
"Net Neutrality II" is the second segment of the HBO news satire television series Last Week Tonight with John Oliver devoted to net neutrality in the United States. It aired on May 7,2017 for 19 minutes,as part of the eleventh episode of the fourth season,and the 100th episode overall.
