Net Neutrality a Source of Contention, Anxiety Among Lawmakers

"It is time for Congress to step in and disallow the FCC to do net neutrality rules,” said House Commerce Committee Vice Chairman Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. She slammed what she called the “activist” FCC that tries to control what people are hearing and seeing. “That is a warm fuzzy name they've given to what they want to do to control the access to the Internet,” Blackburn said of net neutrality. “That would be dipping into how you nuance your speed and how you prioritize and value content on the Internet. This is not a new something that the FCC is trying. They've been down this road before.”

In late February, Blackburn introduced the Internet Freedom Act, which would prevent the FCC from reinstating any net neutrality rules. HR-4070 has 37 Republican co-sponsors and no Democratic co-sponsors. Also in February, Democrats had introduced the Open Internet Preservation Act, HR-3982, which would restore the vacated rules. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., called the court ruling a “setback” when interviewed on The Communicators. Net neutrality is widely seen as intensely partisan on Capitol Hill, where such legislation is not expected to move.

There’s been “pushback” against the FCC for its attempts in “regulating the Internet,” said Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., slamming any specter of “net neutrality 2.0” that the agency may want to attempt. He said he hopes FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler recognizes, due to the court ruling, that the agency lacks authority to reinstate such rules. He is a co-sponsor of Blackburn’s bill and cited the “great, thriving private marketplace” online: “The government trying to interfere will only make that more complicated."

The FCC on Thursday announced tentative plans for restoring net neutrality rules (see separate report in this issue), after the interviews were taped. That announcement sparked outrage among consumer advocate groups for what they said was permission for “Internet fast lanes” in the proposed rules, which also already have begun stirring Capitol Hill reaction.

"The Internet’s rules of the road must not open up fast lanes to those who can pay, leaving others stuck in traffic,” said Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., who introduced the Open Internet Preservation Act, S-1981, in the Senate in February, in a statement. Markey will “work to ensure” the FCC proposal “properly safeguards the openness and vitality of the Internet for all users, entrepreneurs and our economy for generations to come,” he said. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., also sent off a series of alarmed tweets Wednesday and released a statement saying: “I am deeply concerned by reports that the FCC is preparing to reverse ground on so-called net neutrality rules, potentially creating a pay-to-play system for Internet content that would advantage the fortunate and imperil content access for millions. Equal access to the Internet has a powerful positive effect -- on education, government, even entrepreneurship.” Booker will be following the process closely, he said. “Under this terribly misguided proposal, the Internet as we have come to know it would cease to exist and the average American would be the big loser,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in a statement Thursday. “We must not let private corporations turn bigger and bigger profits by putting a price tag on the free flow of ideas.” The U.S. “must not turn over our democracy to the highest bidder,” Sanders said.

House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., worries the FCC proposal “will not do enough to curtail discrimination of Internet traffic, but rather leave the door open to discrimination under more ambiguous terms,” she said in a statement: “For me to support ‘commercially reasonable’ agreements between financially liquid online content companies and broadband providers for faster Internet speeds, there must be zero uncertainty left in the minds of consumers, small businesses and innovators that they are competing on a level playing field with their peers.” Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., backs “strong and clear net neutrality rules,” she said, still “hopeful” the FCC will propose such rules. “It should not turn back from its responsibility to preserve an open and free Internet that spurs innovation and protects consumers.”

House Republicans also bashed Wheeler’s proposal Thursday. His “approach to regulation seeks to freeze current market practices, which will cast a chill on technological breakthroughs and cause American consumers to lose out,” Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., and House Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., said in a joint statement. “Further underscoring the needlessness of the rules, Internet service providers have made clear they will continue to adhere to the spirit of the rules that were already struck down by the courts.”

Blackburn and Scalise both back serious review of telecom and media law, they said on The Communicators. But Blackburn doesn’t want a comprehensive overhaul of the Communications Act, as some House Republicans have suggested is necessary. “There’s always those that like comprehensive,” Blackburn said. “What we have learned is comprehensive does not serve us well. … Take issues one at a time. Be very precise where you can define a harm, define a solution and take an action.” Shift the focus to end use and make sure any Telecom Act provisions don’t focus on the technology at hand, she said. Lawmakers should “take issues one at a time and have a very thoughtful discussion about these and look at the possibilities for the future,” Blackburn said.

"It’s absolutely time,” Scalise said of overhauling the 1996 Telecom Act. “The laws have been on the books for a system that just doesn’t exist anymore.”

Scalise also pointed to the 1992 Cable Act as “incredibly outdated,” citing his Next Generation Television Marketplace Act, HR-3675, which he reintroduced in December. “You're seeing the momentum grow,” he said of the bill, saying there’s “a lot more interest” now than when he introduced it during the previous Congress. “That’s a bill that really goes to the heart of revamping our video laws.” Redoing the video laws will ultimately lead to lower prices for consumers, he said. There’s “some agreement” between Scalise and Eshoo “in terms of the outdated laws that need to be revamped,” Scalise said.

Polis, meanwhile, praised President Barack Obama for his focus on wiring schools and libraries through his ConnectED broadband initiative. Polis had written a letter to the FCC in recent months backing a redone E-rate program to address connectivity in this manner. He compared the need to the federal government’s role in building the highways that connect U.S. cities. “It’s really the infrastructure of the future that our schools and our students need in order to succeed,” he said. Polis said he doesn’t see E-rate as “terribly partisan” and hopes Obama’s focus on it “doesn’t make it partisan.” He mentioned the program’s importance to rural residents, who often are represented in Congress by Republican lawmakers. “They want to be able to compete with kids who are wired in the suburbs and the cities.”

Cellphone unlocking is another great concern, Polis said. He criticized an amendment to a bill the House passed earlier this year for removing a provision addressing bulk unlocking. The Senate should make “appropriate changes” to the bill, restoring that provision, he said.

Blackburn and Scalise treated Wheeler’s FCC with skepticism. The FCC should not “get off into net neutrality” and try “to get governance of the Internet” and should also steer clear of privacy and data security issues better left to the FTC, Blackburn said. It’s “too early to tell” on Wheeler, Scalise said. He slammed the FCC’s now-cancelled Critical Information Needs study, widely criticized by Republicans -- it would “literally try to police our newsrooms,” Scalise said. “That’s not a place for the FCC.” Polis, on the other hand, said he’s “a big fan of some of their directions.”

Scalise is also concerned the FCC may want to “play a heavy role” in approving Comcast’s proposed purchase of Time Warner Cable. “They don’t compete against each other,” Scalise said of the two cable companies. “I don’t think anything in this merger would hurt consumers.” The deal may even lower costs and provide better options for consumers due to efficiencies, he said. When asked about the proposed deal, Polis brought up “a whole lot of competition” among companies now that never existed before, with far more consumer choice than ever. But antitrust policies need to prevent monopolies, Polis said. (jhendel@warren-news.com)