Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai is following through on his pledge to repeal 2015 regulations designed to ensure that Internet service providers treat all online content and apps equally.
The move was hailed immediately by industry. Two consumer groups, meanwhile, were critical in response..
The concept, known as net neutrality, imposed utility-style regulation on ISPs such as Comcast, AT&T and Verizon to prevent them from favoring their own digital services over their rivals.
Pai believes the net neutrality rules adopted during the Obama administration discourages the ISPs from making investments in their network to provide even better and faster online access.
He distributed his alternative plan to other FCC commissioners Tuesday in preparation for a Dec. 14 vote on the proposal. Pai promised to release his entire proposal Wednesday.
Pai’s statement
The full statement from Pai follows:
“For almost twenty years, the Internet thrived under the light-touch regulatory approach established by President Clinton and a Republican Congress. This bipartisan framework led the private sector to invest $1.5 trillion building communications networks throughout the United States. And it gave us an Internet economy that became the envy of the world.
“But in 2015, the prior FCC bowed to pressure from President Obama. On a party-line vote, it imposed heavy-handed, utility-style regulations upon the Internet. That decision was a mistake. It’s depressed investment in building and expanding broadband networks and deterred innovation.
“Today, I have shared with my colleagues a draft order that would abandon this failed approach and return to the longstanding consensus that served consumers well for decades. Under my proposal, the federal government will stop micromanaging the Internet. Instead, the FCC would simply require Internet service providers to be transparent about their practices so that consumers can buy the service plan that’s best for them and entrepreneurs and other small businesses can have the technical information they need to innovate.
“Additionally, as a result of my proposal, the Federal Trade Commission will once again be able to police ISPs, protect consumers, and promote competition, just as it did before 2015. Notably, my proposal will put the federal government’s most experienced privacy cop, the FTC, back on the beat to protect consumers’ online privacy.
“Speaking of transparency, when the prior FCC adopted President Obama’s heavy-handed Internet regulations, it refused to let the American people see that plan until weeks after the FCC’s vote. This time, it’ll be different. Specifically, I will publicly release my proposal to restore Internet freedom tomorrow—more than three weeks before the Commission’s December 14 vote.
“Working with my colleagues, I look forward to returning to the light-touch, market-based framework that unleashed the digital revolution and benefited consumers here and around the world.”
Reaction – pro and con
Pai’s attack on net neutrality has triggered protests from consumer groups and Internet companies.
Cinnamon Rogers, Senior Vice President for Government Affairs for the Telecommunications Industry Association, noted:
“We applaud Chairman Pai for proposing the return to light-touch regulation of internet access service. This long-standing approach has encouraged private sector innovation and investment in broadband infrastructure, and the development of high-tech communications equipment that allows the internet to thrive.
“The FCC’s proposal, as outlined by the Chairman today, will improve the business case for deploying next-generation wireline and wireless broadband to meet growing consumer demand for connectivity, create high-paying jobs across the country, and enable new services powered by the Internet of Things. TIA and its member companies look forward to working with the Commission to meet these goals.”
Jonathan Spalter, CEO of trade group USTelecom, added:
“Today’s action will provide tremendous opportunity for American broadband consumers, no matter where they live. The removal of antiquated, restrictive regulations will pave the way for broadband network investment, expansion and upgrades. FCC Chairman Pai’s proposal to restore the smart, common-sense, bipartisan policies that allowed the internet to flourish is a critical step toward closing the digital divide and ensuring net neutrality protections for all.”
However, consumer group Fight for the Future remains opposed.
“This is the free speech fight of our generation and Internet users are pissed off and paying attention” said Evan Greer, campaign director of Fight for the Future.
“The corrupt bureaucrats trying to kill net neutrality are hoping to avoid public backlash by burying the news over the Holiday weekend. We’re taking our protest from the Internet to the streets to make sure that doesn’t happen,” she added.
National Hispanic Media Coalition’s Carmen Scurato, director of policy and legal affairs, also spoke out.
“Repealing Net Neutrality is no small matter, especially for Latinos and people of color who already face substantial barriers in getting online, staying online and having high quality Internet. Despite the obstacles, we strive to tell our stories, build businesses, learn, get jobs, express ourselves, and organize online,” Scurato said.
“Today, the Trump FCC is telling Latinos and other consumers that their voices will only be heard as far as their wallets can carry them, by paving the way for paid prioritization. Shifting responsibility for resolving consumer issues to the Federal Trade Commission, which currently lacks the jurisdiction and resources to effectively handle them, is a sad statement of what the FCC stands for today–corporations over consumers.”
The Internet Association, a group whose members include major internet companies such as Google and Amazon, vowed to continue to fight to keep the current net neutrality rules intact.
“Consumers have little choice in their ISP, and service providers should not be allowed to use this gatekeeper position at the point of connection to discriminate against websites and apps,” the group’s CEO Michael Beckerman said in a Tuesday statement.
Consumers Union predicted a repeal of net neutrality would allow ISPs to raise their prices and give preferential treatment to certain sites and apps.
“Strong net neutrality rules are vital to consumers’ everyday lives and essential to preserving the internet as we know it today — an open marketplace where websites large and small compete on equal terms and where information and ideas move freely,” said Jonathan Schwantes, the advocacy group’s senior policy counsel.
Two of the FCC’s five voting commissioners signaled they will oppose Pai’s plan.
