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.
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.
Michael Kevin Powell is an American attorney and lobbyist who served as the 24th chairman of the Federal Communications Commission from 2001 to 2005. Since leaving office,Powell has since worked as the president of the National Cable &Telecommunications Association (NCTA),a broadband industry trade association.
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.
Gregory Paul Walden is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Oregon's 2nd congressional district from 1999 to 2021. He is a Republican. Walden is the son of three-term Oregon State Representative Paul E. Walden. In October 2019,Walden announced that he would not run for reelection in 2020.
A privacy policy is a statement or legal document that discloses some or all of the ways a party gathers,uses,discloses,and manages a customer or client's data. Personal information can be anything that can be used to identify an individual,not limited to the person's name,address,date of birth,marital status,contact information,ID issue,and expiry date,financial records,credit information,medical history,where one travels,and intentions to acquire goods and services. In the case of a business,it is often a statement that declares a party's policy on how it collects,stores,and releases personal information it collects. It informs the client what specific information is collected,and whether it is kept confidential,shared with partners,or sold to other firms or enterprises. Privacy policies typically represent a broader,more generalized treatment,as opposed to data use statements,which tend to be more detailed and specific.
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.
Kevin Jeffrey Martin is a lobbyist for Facebook and former member and Chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC),an independent agency of the United States government. He was nominated to be a commissioner by President George W. Bush on April 30,2001,and was confirmed on May 25,2001. On March 16,2005,President Bush designated him as FCC chairman,to replace Michael K. Powell. President Bush renominated Martin to a new five-year term on the Commission on April 25,2006,and he was reconfirmed by the U.S. Senate on November 17,2006. In January 2009,Martin announced that he would step down from the FCC and join the Aspen Institute,as a senior fellow in the think tank's Communications and Society Program. He since became a partner with the law firm Squire Patton Boggs LLP,and was hired as Facebook's head of U.S. Public Policy.
NCTA –The Internet &Television Association,formerly known as the National Cable &Telecommunications Association (NCTA),is a prominent trade association representing the American broadband and pay television industries. As of 2011,the NCTA encompassed more than 90% of the U.S. cable market,over 200 cable networks,and various equipment suppliers and service providers to the cable industry.
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.
Jonathan David Leibowitz is an American attorney who served under President Barack Obama as Chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from 2009 to 2013. Leibowitz was appointed to the commission in 2004,and resigned in 2013. During Leibowitz's tenure,the FTC brought privacy cases against Google,Facebook and others for violating consumer privacy,as well as enforcement against "pay-for-delay" deals in which pharmaceutical companies paid competitors to stay out of the market. Prior to joining the FTC,Leibowitz was Vice President for Congressional Affairs from 2000 to 2004 of the MPAA.
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.
Mignon Letitia Clyburn is an American former government official who served as a member of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from 2009 to 2018.
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.
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.
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.
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.
