GOP chairman fears ‘heavy-handed’ Internet regulation

Federal regulators are eyeing a chokehold on the Internet, the head of the House Commerce subcommittee on technology said Thursday.

A day after Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler dropped multiple hints that upcoming net neutrality rules would take the controversial step of reclassifying broadband Internet service so that it could be treated like a utility, Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) urged him to back off and instead work with Congress on a new path forward.

{mosads}”The endgame should not be heavy-handed regulation that will lead to a bonanza of litigation and uncertainty,” Walden said in a statement on Thursday. “Instead, we would encourage the chairman to join Congress in working to enact a shared set of principles that will withstand legal challenge.”

“We can achieve a bipartisan solution to provide consumers the protections they deserve, the choices they want, and give job creators legal certainty ensuring continued investment in the Internet,” he added.

Walden is helping to spearhead a congressional effort to write new net neutrality legislation ahead of the FCC’s planned vote on new rules on Feb. 26.

Though the FCC’s rules have not yet been made public, most watchers expect the agency to heed President Obama’s call to reclassify Internet service so that the FCC can regulate it in a manner similar to traditional phone service.  

Republicans say that move would strangle growth on the Internet, and they have begun formulating a bill to prevent those type of rules.

Major Internet service companies have also promised to sue the FCC if it decides to reclassify Internet service, potentially tying the issue up in court for years.