In an FCC filing, Verizon argues that no new U.S. government regulations are needed to ensure an open Internet. Based on the public record of comments and testimony amassed by the FCC during its Open Internet regulatory proceeding, there is no evidence or pattern of blocking access to websites, anti-competitive discrimination, or any other harmful behavior by U.S. broadband Internet access providers.
Verizon believes that no evidence has emerged of a failure in the marketplace that would justify sweeping Internet regulations.
“The Internet has historically been governed largely through the efforts of the Internet community in the form of technical standards bodies and other self-regulatory measures such as the development of industry best practices,” Verizon told the commission. “That model should be built upon by creating additional technical and industry groups with the requisite technical expertise that can address problems that do arise, develop industry best practices, and provide a forum to help resolve disputes, much as the Better Business Bureau oversees an alternative dispute resolution mechanism [concerning advertising].”
To guard against potential bad actors in the Internet sector, Verizon said government should address “demonstrated harm to users or to competition on a swift and surgical basis based on an ‘ex post’ finding of specific facts involved in a particular incident where industry mechanisms are unable to resolve the conduct at issue.”
Verizon said the Internet has thrived “because successive administrations of both parties have resisted the urge to regulate.”http://www.verizon.com
