The Internet Can Survive Without Net Neutrality

When the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) vacated its 2015 Open Internet Order, net neutrality advocates warned that the decision would diminish the value of the Internet. They predicted that the FCC’s retreat would allow broadband providers such as Comcast and AT&T to discriminate against Internet content providers—also known as “edge” providers”— in pursuit of higher profits. The FCC’s policy change has not lifted all safeguards against harmful broadband provider conduct, however. Antitrust law still exists to protect against unfair competition. In a recent paper, A. Douglas Melamed and Andrew W. Chang compare the net neutrality and antitrust approaches to Internet governance and argue that net neutrality might not be necessary to preserve Internet value after all. Melamed and Chang concede that harmful broadband provider conduct is still possible. Some broadband providers can block or harm edge providers if they so…

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