Free State Foundation Legal Thinkers Criticize Net Neutrality

The Free State Foundation on Tuesday released a new book entitled “New Directions in Communications Policy,” which is critical of arguments for Net neutrality. The book is based upon a panel discussion on the national broadband plan, broadband stimulus funding, and Net neutrality, or the requirement that carriers not be permitted to offer speedier internet delivery to paying business customers.

On Net neutrality, James Speta from the Northwestern University law school said, “The big divide in the net neutrality debate is between those who think all discrimination however conceived is anti-competitive, and those who believe discrimination is only a problem when it is anti-competitive. I think it’s fair to say Christopher [Yoo] and I are in this latter camp.”

Professor Christopher Yoo, from the University of Pennsylvania law school, made the following comments about open access regulations:“If you look at the actual empirical literature that has now started to roll in, very consistently there is no correlation between an open access policy and broadband innovation, broadband investment, or last mile investment. And more to the point, it actually seems to be counterproductive in many, many cases. It’s beyond theory. It’s actually going into the hard data.”