Economists say FCC draft rules understate costs of restricting use of consumer data

The Federal Communications Commission's proposed cybersecurity and privacy regulations for internet service providers would impose a costly societal burden by restricting the innovative use of data, according to economists critical of the regulatory plan.

The argument attempts to turn on its head the FCC's justification for the regulatory plan which the commission is expected to approved at its next public meeting on Oct. 27.

The FCC “does not seem to recognize that the use of data has large benefits and...