The FCC announced on Friday, February 3, 2017, it is stopping a review into wireless carriers that exclude certain applications, such as their own video streaming services, from counting against a customer’s monthly data caps, a practice known as “zero rating.”
The Commission also barred nine companies from offering affordable internet access to low-income Americans, reversing a decision from the previous administration.
We at Mozilla believe, bringing all of the internet to all people and ensuring the internet remains an open and competitive ecosystem, is one of the great challenges of our day.
By encouraging harmful business practices to continue in the market and discouraging companies from offering subsidized access to poor Americans, today’s moves by the FCC are a significant step backward.
Internet users deserve equal rating not zero rating. Equal Rating solutions are free of discrimination, do not have gatekeepers, and do not allow for pay-for-play schemes.