Let the FCC do its job

It’s been almost a decade since the Christian Coalition shared a stage with the rock musicians from Nine Inch Nails for a news conference to ask Congress to pass so-called net neutrality legislation to make sure Internet access providers couldn’t discriminate among sources or types of Internet content.

Back then it seemed Open Internet protections were imminent with such a groundswell of grassroots support from so many individuals, organizations and businesses that relied on the Internet – including some rather unlikely political bedfellows.  After all, the Internet had historically operated initially under a common carrier legal regime. The FCC’s 2005 Open Internet principles were announced, which detailed consumer rights online to reinforce the importance of continuing existing neutrality type behavior. However, those principles turned out to be unenforceable. After a large Internet access provider announced to stockholders that it saw a potential major new revenue stream from a plan to charge websites for access to “its pipes,” the threat was crystallized for those who understood the importance of open access to the Internet.

{mosads}The value of good legislation or FCC rules to protect open access is to provide a barrier to such “toll booth, gatekeeper” attempts and revalidate the historical approach that has made the Internet the tremendous enabler of innovation and opportunity that it is.  This open platform for communications, commerce and culture has been key for political communications,  businesses evolution, customer awareness, and so much more.

Several lawsuits later and after millions of dollars spent by Internet access providers over the last 5 years fighting even narrow rules designed to make sure neither the government nor a few powerful companies could regulate the Internet, the FCC is finally scheduled to vote this month on Open Internet rules.

FCC Chairman Wheeler announced plans to rely on the FCC’s authority under Title II of the Communications Act to narrowly, but vigorously, safeguard the openness of Internet access.  He repeatedly assured the big cable and telecommunications companies fighting these rules that he had no intention of imposing broad regulations implementing all of Title II – the FCC would forbear from tariffing, cost tracking and rate regulation for example, and use only a handful of the 3 dozen provisions of the statute. 

The latest tactic in fighting these rules has been to try get Congress to instead pass weaker Open Internet rules that would be riddled with loopholes and effectively unenforceable.  Some in Congress are holding a hearing this week to push flawed legislation along, with some accusing the FCC of rushing this Open Internet proceeding.

Wheeler explained how the FCC is following typical procedures in a letter to Republican committee leaders.

For those who have had a front row seat for this decades-long slow moving drama, the latest antics would be more of a comedy – but those relatively new to the issue easily could be misled about the integrity and comprehensiveness of the administrative agency process.

This Open Internet issue has come before three FCC chairmen representing both political parties and one interim chair.   Just in this past year, the FCC held an exhaustive series of workshops at which many parts of industry, consumer and academic experts debated every technical, legal and policy aspect of the pending proceeding.  Members of Congress held conferences around the country in which Commissioners and citizens discussed the pros and cons of Open Internet rules.  Multiple Congressional hearings in the past 8 months have examined open Internet law and policy. Meanwhile, the FCC received comments from nearly 4 million people, a majority of whom encouraged the FCC to ensure the Internet remains open.

A democracy inherently works best with checks and balances. At times Congress has created independent agencies to insulate some government functions from excessive political pressure – even their own. That’s what it did when it created the FCC in 1934, updated it in 1996, and charged it with protecting American consumers’ access to advanced communications both wired and wireless.

The FCC is simply doing its job to protect Open Internet access for all Internet users and in a way that benefits the overall economy.  We hope Congress can conduct oversight and consider new updates to the Telecom Act — without trying to block the FCC from following existing law and protecting the core principles upon which a vibrant Internet depends.

Black is president and CEO of the Computer & Communications Industry Association.