Graziadio Professor Explores Net Neutrality From Both Sides
Pepperdine’s Graziadio School of Business and Management Professor Nelson Granados recently published an article in Forbes, in which he delved into both sides of the net neutrality argument.
Granados has earned a Ph.D. in Information and Decision Sciences and an MBA from Carlson School of Management. His piece jumps into the issues surrounding net neutrality in the new administration. In 2015, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) imposed the Open Internet Order, which would ensure that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) give fair delivery of internet content.
Granados says the Open Internet Order operated under the assumption that the internet is a telecommunication service, making it “… a public utility , like water or electricity.”
Amit Pai, the new FCC chairman under President Trump, believes these regulations are archaic and do not account for the current technological climate.
One of the most notable regulations under the 2015 rules was the stipulation that ISPs cannot block or slow down content, or provide purchasable “fast lanes” for content. The new proposal questions whether these rules are necessary, and what could be a less-stringent replacement that would still encourage competition.
Previously, former President Barack Obama’s FCC regulations provided safeguards against practices that would provide an advantage to streaming services affiliated with ISP’s. Granados raises this point, but also counters it with the argument that ISP’s were not investing as much in 2016, possibly due to the regulations.
Granados concludes that there is not simple solution. “No regulation is not an option. Over-regulation isn’t the solution either,” Granados writes, “A happy medium is necessary to safeguard a neutral internet and promote investment and innovation.”
