Public Knowledge Lobbies FCC Staff on Digital Discrimination Rules

Public Knowledge urged the FCC to adopt a disparate impact standard in its rules combatting digital discrimination, in a meeting with the task force to prevent digital discrimination (see 2302220045). "There is no case law that suggests ... that disparate impact on the basis of income discrimination would be unconstitutional," the group said in an ex parte filing posted Friday in docket 22-69. PK asked the commission to make the disparate impact standard severable if a court prohibits use of the standard on the basis of race. It also raised concerns about the rule applying to all ISPs in a service area, saying numerous ISPs have "suggested that as long as a single carrier is available in the area subject to digital discrimination, then all other carriers should be free to discriminate by refusing to serve the area."