Regulation of Open Internet Access Gigi Sohn and Randolph May talked about the case Verizon vs. Federal Communications Commission for which oral arguments were heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on September 9, 2013. Verizon sued to overturn the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) rules requiring equal treatment for all traffic on the Internet. The rules would keep Internet service providers from blocking or slowing content that goes over the Internet. The concept has been called “net neutrality” and “open” Internet. Ms. Sohn suggested that stronger protections were needed by the government. Mr. May said the FCC lacked authority to impose a common carrier mandate on Internet providers. The program opened with a video clip of FCC Commissioner Julius Genachowski (D) announcing the rule on December 20, 2010. Then former Commissioner Robert McDowell (R), who voted against the rules in 2010, made comments by telephone. close