ALL EYES ON NET NEUTRALITY: Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai is expected to lay out his case for repealing the agency’s net neutrality rules.
Pai will give a speech on the future of internet regulation Wednesday at an event hosted by the conservative FreedomWorks group.
According to reports, Pai will argue in favor of undoing the net neutrality rules, which were put in place during the Obama administration and require internet service providers to treat all web traffic equally. Pai could also start formal proceedings to repeal the rules.
The Republican chairman reportedly wants to preserve the principles of a free and open internet, while repealing a part of the rules that reclassified internet service providers as common carriers — a designation that opened them up to public utility-style regulation. But he may not articulate a replacement for the rules this week.
{mosads}Details of Pai’s plans are still unclear, but he told reporters last week that he’s met with representatives from industries on both sides of the debate to seek “common ground.”
His plan reportedly could repeal the rules in exchange for a framework where companies commit to net neutrality principles voluntarily.
The internet rules have long sparked controversy and were enacted after a long fight that also saw millions file public comments in favor of them.
But Republicans and the broadband industry have been vocal opponents of the rules, which they see as heavy-handed and wrongly expanding the FCC’s oversight. Telecom companies unsuccessfully challenged the rules in court and have pushed Republicans on repeal.
Consumer groups and Democrats, though, have fiercely defended the rules, saying they are key to insuring internet service providers don’t play favorites with online content and websites.
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DEM FCC COMMISH PUSHES BACK: The sole Democrat on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) says she is “uncomfortable” with the plan that FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is reportedly promoting to dismantle net neutrality.
In a Tuesday interview with Axios, Mignon Clyburn said she didn’t think the rules should be replaced with voluntary commitments from internet service providers to maintain a free and open internet.
“You’ve heard me say this dozens of times, about the internet and broadband being one of the greatest equalizers of our time, and what it enables,” she said. “And something that important, for a handful of entities saying this is how it’s going to be done, I’m a little bit uncomfortable [with] that. I haven’t seen anything, but just the promise of that makes me feel a little uncomfortable.”
Clyburn, alongside House Energy and Commerce Democrats, is set to deliver a rebuttal to Pai’s speech on internet policy tomorrow.
ADVOCACY GROUPS TOO: Consumer advocates are sounding the alarm over the future of net neutrality with the Federal Communications Commission chairman poised to unveil his plan for rolling back the controversial rules.
“Such an approach is not only unworkable as a practical and legal matter, but would also be devastating for Internet freedom, economic opportunity, and innovation,” groups including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Color of Change and Public wrote in a letter Tuesday.
The letter was sent to Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.) and ranking member Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), as well as House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-Ore.) and ranking member Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.).
FCC CHIEF ALSO TAKES AIM AT MEDIA RULES: The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission promised on Tuesday that the agency would look to cut media regulations. During a speech at the National Association of Broadcasters’ convention in Las Vegas, Ajit Pai said that the FCC would vote at its May 18 meeting on conducting a “comprehensive review” of the agency’s existing media regulations.
“Given the realities of today’s media marketplace, we need to see which rules are still necessary and which should be relaxed or repealed,” he said.
He also hinted that the commission would look to roll back regulations on media ownership.
UBER TO START TESTING FLYING CARS WITHIN THREE YEARS: Uber officials hope to start testing flying cars within the next three years in Dallas and Dubai, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. Jeff Holden, the company’s chief product officer, said that Uber believes that the new technology could be cheaper and more efficient.
“This is why Uber’s running at this as opposed to taking a kind of careful approach, a slow approach to this,” Holden said. “We just want to usher it in as fast as possible.”
BIG WEEK FOR THE APP ASSOCIATION: The App Association is hosting its annual D.C. fly-in this week. 50 small and mid-sized technology companies are visiting the nation’s capital to meet with lawmakers and regulators. Issues the group is pushing include lawful access to data, and tax reform. Both are hot topics among the tech community at large.
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