Posts in Net Neutrality

Tillis and Other Senate Republicans Bristle at Biden’s Nomination of Gigi Sohn to the FCC

On November 30, Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) wrote a letter addressed to President Joe Biden asking Biden to withdraw the nomination of Gigi Sohn, a co-founder of the open Internet advocacy group Public Knowledge, to serve as a commissioner with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Tillis is one of a growing number of Republican lawmakers who are speaking out strongly against Biden’s nomination of Sohn, who previously served as a senior staffer to former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler during the Obama Administration. Tillis’ letter to President Biden certainly pulls no punches in assessing the likely impact of Sohn’s nomination on copyright owners especially. “[Sohn] is a radical open-content activist with no respect for intellectual property rights,” Tillis wrote. “As an activist, Ms. Sohn has consistently worked against commonsense measures that would crack down on illegal piracy. She has even testified before Congress that ‘piracy has absolutely no effect on [music] prices whatsoever.’”

Steve Brachmann

December 2, 2021

Net Neutrality: How Recent Developments Could Affect Content Companies and Other IP-Intensive Businesses

Net neutrality provides that all ISPs should provide equal access to content, at an equal speed, without discrimination against particular sources, thereby preventing broadband providers from blocking, slowing down or charging money for specific content. Proponents of net neutrality point out the importance of equal access to consumers on the internet for companies creating content and intellectual property on the internet, while opponents view FCC regulations as overreaching and unnecessary. Whether through national legislation, a change in FCC position or state laws and the accompanying lawsuits, the debate regarding net neutrality is not over yet and the year ahead will likely hold many new developments.

Benjamin Hodges & Melodie Virtue

March 16, 2020