Today, Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced the “Uncap America Act of 2022” to prevent broadband providers from applying predatory data caps to subscribers. To accomplish this, the bill would direct the Federal Communications Commission to create regulations that define when a data cap is tailored for network management and when it isn’t – as well as give the Commission enforcement authority when those conditions are violated. Public Knowledge applauds Sens. Luján and Booker for stepping up to end this predatory practice.
Please attribute the following to Jenna Leventoff, Senior Policy Counsel at Public Knowledge:
“Data caps make life particularly difficult for consumers. If users hit their monthly data limit, they are either forced to pay extra for more data or their broadband provider slows their connection to an unusable crawl. Worse, these data caps disproportionately impact low-income people who can’t afford to pay up in the first place.
“The pandemic has proven that broadband is an essential service, and many of the pandemic’s most critical online activities, like distance learning and telehealth, are almost certainly going to stick around. However, these are data intensive services that often cause people to hit their data caps. Many consumers, particularly low-income ones, find themselves severely restricting their online activities so that they don’t hit their data caps. This is especially frustrating because data caps are largely unnecessary – most simply operate as a roundabout way for providers to increase prices. We thank Sens. Luján and Booker for their dedication to eliminating this baseless price gouging.”
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