Broadband is as necessary as water, gas, and electricity – a sentiment shared by over half of all Americans who say that the internet has been essential during the COVID-19 pandemic. As an organization dedicated to upholding the core values of American democracy, Common Cause understands the importance of a Internet libre, ouvert et accessible pour tous. Le haut débit contribue à informer et à engager le public, et Sans elle, nous n’avons pas de démocratie fonctionnelle.

Broadband has fundamentally changed what participation in our democracy looks like. Today, people use the internet to register to vote, learn about political candidates, find their polling places, access government services, organize rallies, communicate with their friends and family, and much more. But broadband can only fuel civic engagement to the extent our digital rights are protected online.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has the authority to regulate and oversee broadband under Title II of the Communications Act. Title II is often synonymous with net neutrality, the principle that the internet should be open and ISPs shouldn’t be allowed to block, throttle, or create fast lanes for prioritized internet access. But Title II means much more than that. It protects the digital rights everyone expects when going online.

The largest ISPs in this country hold tremendous control over who can access the internet and what that access looks like. This unfettered control gives ISPs the ability and incentive to engage in discriminatory practices that undermine our digital rights. For example, ISPs have engaged in prix abusifs, vendu les données de localisation en temps réel de leurs clients, et a mené pratiques de facturation frauduleusesLe titre II confère à la FCC le pouvoir de garantir que les prix du haut débit sont justes et raisonnables et permet à l'agence d'enquêter sur les comportements injustes et discriminatoires. Le haut débit étant devenu plus essentiel que jamais, la FCC devrait disposer de tous les outils à sa disposition pour demander des comptes à ces entreprises et protéger l'intérêt public.

Recognizing the critical nature of connectivity, the FCC under the Obama administration reclassified broadband as a Title II service under the 2015 Open Internet Order, creating a framework that advanced universal and affordable connectivity and safeguarded critical consumer protections when online. However, the FCC during the Trump administration repealed the 2015 Order, and consequently abdicated its authority over broadband.

Since the FCC relinquished its broadband authority, we’ve seen a wild west where ISPs are free to do what they want at the expense of consumers. In one particularly egregious example, Verizon throttled the Santa Clara Fire Department during its response to the California Wildfires, and the Fire Department was left without legal recourse because the FCC had no oversight over Verizon’s actions. Without Title II authority, the FCC was also forced to resort to asking ISPs to make voluntary commitments not to terminate customer service during the pandemic. When customers filed hundreds of complaints noting ISPs failure to uphold the pledge, the FCC had no way to hold these providers accountable for disconnecting households during the pandemic. Without Title II, the FCC will continue to be stuck trying to protect consumers with one hand tied behind its back.

Title II also plays a vital role in safeguarding the rights of marginalized people. Black, Latinx, and Indigenous communities are moins probable que leurs homologues blancs à disposer d'une connexion haut débit à domicile, ce qui signifie qu'ils ne peuvent pas participer pleinement à notre démocratie. Ces communautés étaient également plus susceptibles d'être touchées par la Pandémie de covid-19, accordant une importance accrue à la disponibilité de l'accès à Internet pour le télétravail, la télémédecine et l'éducation virtuelle. Ils vivent dans des quartiers soumis à Redlining numérique, les laissant avec des infrastructures obsolètes et sans accès à un véritable Internet à haut débit. Ces mêmes communautés sont encore plus susceptibles d'être touchées de manière disproportionnée par pratiques discriminatoires en matière de données. With Title II authority, the FCC can correct the market failure that has led to these disparités, promulguer des règlements qui interdire le redlining numérique, et adopter des mesures de protection de la vie privée préservant les données personnelles des membres des communautés marginalisées en ce qui concerne la manière dont ces données sont traitées par les fournisseurs de haut débit.

This is a pivotal moment for consumers everywhere. We need a fully functional FCC to address our communications needs and protect our digital rights under Title II. These  rights go way beyond the basic principle of net neutrality. Title II represents the ability of the Federal Communications Commission to ensure equal access to broadband, act in the event of an emergency, and safeguard the activities that are essential to our democracy. We need robust and affordable broadband now more than ever for a functioning democracy, and that can only be achieved through Title II.