FCC flooded with net neutrality complaints

Roughly 2,000 complaints about Internet Service Providers have been sent to the Federal Communications Commission by consumers under the agency’s new net neutrality rules, National Journal reported Thursday.

Consumers filed the complaints through the FCC’s website and selected a menu item labeled “Open Internet/Net Neutrality.” The complaints differ from the formal filings and comments that already appear in the FCC’s public database.

{mosads}The FCC’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau reportedly reviews the complaints before sending them to the Internet providers. Companies have 30 days to respond to customers and the commission. Complaints can also lead to action from the agency’s powerful Enforcement Bureau.

In the selection of complaints received by National Journal, which were posted online, consumers showed a frustration with various aspects of their Internet service. Many said that their speeds were being capped, with providers sometimes slowing their speeds or charging them once they used a certain amount of data.

“It always seems to cap at 30 which is completely unacceptable,” said one customer in Colorado. “It’s frustrating how Comcast thinks they can get away with this. I won’t even go into detail about how slow our Internet was before we upgraded. All I’ll say is that it was far slower than what we were paying for.”

When they approved the net neutrality order earlier this year, the commission didn’t ban data caps across the board. They do ban choosing which traffic to slow, allowing websites to pay for faster delivery of data to consumers or blocking certain traffic. The rules are aimed, more broadly, at ensuring that Internet providers don’t favor some content.

Regulators could conceivably target data caps for “unreasonably interfering” with a customer’s access to the Internet. The FCC can also punish companies for failing to appropriately disclose their data cap policies. The agency had proposed fining AT&T $100 million for allegedly not properly disclosing their mobile data cap policies for “unlimited” plans.

The rules are controversial. Critics contend that the commission has vastly overstepped its bounds by classifying the Internet as a utility, giving them the regulatory power to implement the rules. A federal court is currently considering challenges to the law from industry groups and companies. Republicans in Congress and on the campaign trail have also rallied against the rules.