The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) should provide consumers the maximum protection possible by reclassifying broadband as a telecommunications service, Common Cause said Wednesday.

This morning FCC chairman Tom Wheeler announced plans to solicit public comment on how best to ensure Open Internet (“net neutrality”) protections in light of a recent appeals court decision striking down the commission’s 2010 Open Internet Order.

“I welcome Chairman Wheeler’s prompt response to the court’s recent decision on the Open Internet, and I am pleased at the opening of a docket to encourage wide public input into this critically-important issue,” said Michael Copps, a former FCC Commissioner now serving as special adviser to Common Cause’s Media and Democracy Reform Initiative.

“I continue to believe that Title II reclassification is, by far, the surest and best way to guarantee consumer protections and free speech online. I hope the Commission will get there soon,” Copps said.

Common Cause est une organisation populaire non partisane qui se consacre à la restauration des valeurs fondamentales de la démocratie américaine, à la réinvention d'un gouvernement ouvert, honnête et responsable qui œuvre pour l'intérêt public et à la capacité des citoyens ordinaires à faire entendre leur voix.