Who says the Christmas spirit didn’t survive the 20th Century? Not us! And, apparently, not the FCC, which took the time – on the eve of Christmas Eve – to release the full text of its Net Neutrality decision. All 194 pages. Actually, the decision itself is only 87 pages long, but then there are the Commissioners’ separate statements, the rules themselves, and a bunch of other stuff that brings the total count close to the 200-page level.
What with last minute Christmas shopping, decorating, baking, and other seasonally-appropriate festivities, we confess that reading the decision has not been a top priority. We do expect to delve into it promptly and will report on our findings, but in the meantime we’re providing the link (above) to the decision for those who want to check it out themselves.
If you’re worried about the immediate effects of the decision, you can breathe a little easy – none of the new rules will take effect until: (1) the Office of Management and Budget has had a chance to give them the once-over (as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act); (2) OMB has given them the thumbs up; (3) notice of the OMB’s approval has been published in the Federal Register; and (4) 60 days have gone by after that publication. In other words, you should be able to enjoy the year-end holidays.
And we here at CommLawBlog do wish all our readers the best of the holiday season.
