FCC Chairman Says Zero-Rating Services from AT&T, Verizon Violate Net Neutrality Rules

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler is set to leave his position this month. His final jab has come in the form of a report which states that the controversial “zero-rated” services offered by AT&T and Verizon likely violate FCC’s Open Internet Order, which aims to enforce net neutrality rules.

Wheeler’s report, found here, states that zero-rating policies “present significant risks to consumers and competition.”

“In particular,” writes Wheeler, “these sponsored data offerings may harm consumers and competition by unreasonably discriminating in favor of downstream providers owned or affiliated with the network providers.”

“The Commission has long been concerned about the ability and incentives of network owners to thwart their downstream competitors’ ability to serve consumers,” he added.

Wheeler’s report also notes that if nothing is done to stop or at least control these policies, such practices will only become more widespread in the future.

At the Business Insider Ignition conference last year, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson described net neutrality as “bad for the industry.”

https://borndigital.com/2016/12/08/att-ceo-says-net-neutrality-is-bad-idea