"A Stanford University law professor has argued that T-Mobile's Binge On service, which allows users to stream content from a list of approved providers without eating into their monthly data allocation, is illegal. The professor argues that the system set up by T-Mobile favors some content providers over others, violating rules of fair competition.
Professor Barbara van Schewick, a net neutrality expert, has filed a 51-page document with the FCC outlining various arguments as to why Binge On is in violation of the FCC's Open Internet Order of 2015.
The first argument claims that the system distorts competition. Schewick explains that providers selected to participate in the Binge On program have a competitive advantage because consumers are more likely to choose content from those providers as opposed to others that will cause to have their data subtracted from the total amount allocated to their plan.
In addition, video creators are more apt to use the Binge On approved platforms for their content because they realize consumers are more likely to use those platforms, creating additional competition distortion.
Schewick goes on to argue that user choice is limited by Binge On and that T-Mobile users on the carrier's lowest qualifying plan can watch unlimited amounts of video from approved platforms but only an average of nine minutes of video per day from non-participating platforms.
She also claims that free expression is stifled as a result of the Binge On plan. Because the 42 currently approved providers are almost all offering commercial entertainment and "not user generated, educational or nonprofit video."
"It turns the mobile Internet offered by T-Mobile into an optimal platform for commercial entertainment at the expense of all other speakers. This undermines the potential of the Internet as a democratic space for free expression," she says."
- Date Published:01/31/2016
- Original Publication:Tech Times