SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
In Net Neutrality Fight, Both Sides Gear Up for Long Haul
FCC signals readiness to fight for protections of open internet against opposition from Congress and cable industry
Mar 04, 2015
A week after the Federal Communications Commission passed a landmark vote enshrining protections for net neutrality and mobile broadband, Republicans and cable industry giants are reiterating their vows to fight the ruling--but new comments by FCC chief Tom Wheeler indicate that the commission is ready to take them on.
Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), who heads the House Communications and Technology Subcommittee, on Wednesday said during an industry summit hosted by the American Cable Association that the FCC's new rules are "a total overreach," calling them "illogical and illegal."
The Republican-majority subcommittee spoke openly against the reforms in an 11th-hour meeting before the FCC's vote last week, hearing testimony from industry representatives on the "legal, economic and policy uncertainties" of the new rules.
Over the past year, internet service providers like AT&T and Comcast have also lobbied heavily against the regulations, strongly hinting that they are willing to sue to overturn them and claiming that they may hurt consumers and investors.
But Wheeler, who on Tuesday spoke at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, signaled that the commission is ready to defend net neutrality for the long haul.
"Those who were opposed to the open internet rules always liked to say, 'this is terrible, Depression-era monopoly regulation,' but the fact of the matter is we took the Title II concept and we modernized it," Wheeler said during a public question and answer session. "We built our model for net neutrality on the regulatory model that has been wildly successful in the United States for mobile."
Under one new rule, consumers will be able to complain about excessive bills and seek relief from the FCC--a rule which has garnered rancor from ISPs that claim it is tantamount to imposing tariffs on carriers. But as Wheeler explained on Tuesday, "There are no broad stroke regulations saying 'this is how you will do this.' That's old school regulation."
Rather, the FCC is operating under the "very simple statement that says 'no government or private entity will block people's access to use the network as a vehicle for expression and innovation,'" Wheeler continued.
The Communications and Technology Subcommittee is due to approve the FCC's budget on Wednesday, which will allow the panel to criticize the new rules and Wheeler's championing of strong net neutrality protections. "We intend to do our due diligence," Walden said Wednesday.
Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), one of the more vocal supporters of net neutrality, called the FCC's ruling last week an "enormous victory."
"But the fight isn't over as some Republicans are already working on legislation to undo all of this," he warned at the time. "So in the weeks and months ahead, I will continue to make sure everyone understands what's at stake, and why we need to stand by the strong rules adopted by the FCC."
In an interview with CNET on Tuesday, Franken said that concerns from right-leaning members of Congress over lost investments due to stricter internet regulations are a "false worry."
"The purpose of these rules is to simply preserve net neutrality and to make sure things don't change," Franken said. "I don't think it's the intent of anyone who has been for preserving net neutrality to impose stricter regulation."
In a speech last July, Franken called net neutrality "the First Amendment issue of our time."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
A week after the Federal Communications Commission passed a landmark vote enshrining protections for net neutrality and mobile broadband, Republicans and cable industry giants are reiterating their vows to fight the ruling--but new comments by FCC chief Tom Wheeler indicate that the commission is ready to take them on.
Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), who heads the House Communications and Technology Subcommittee, on Wednesday said during an industry summit hosted by the American Cable Association that the FCC's new rules are "a total overreach," calling them "illogical and illegal."
The Republican-majority subcommittee spoke openly against the reforms in an 11th-hour meeting before the FCC's vote last week, hearing testimony from industry representatives on the "legal, economic and policy uncertainties" of the new rules.
Over the past year, internet service providers like AT&T and Comcast have also lobbied heavily against the regulations, strongly hinting that they are willing to sue to overturn them and claiming that they may hurt consumers and investors.
But Wheeler, who on Tuesday spoke at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, signaled that the commission is ready to defend net neutrality for the long haul.
"Those who were opposed to the open internet rules always liked to say, 'this is terrible, Depression-era monopoly regulation,' but the fact of the matter is we took the Title II concept and we modernized it," Wheeler said during a public question and answer session. "We built our model for net neutrality on the regulatory model that has been wildly successful in the United States for mobile."
Under one new rule, consumers will be able to complain about excessive bills and seek relief from the FCC--a rule which has garnered rancor from ISPs that claim it is tantamount to imposing tariffs on carriers. But as Wheeler explained on Tuesday, "There are no broad stroke regulations saying 'this is how you will do this.' That's old school regulation."
Rather, the FCC is operating under the "very simple statement that says 'no government or private entity will block people's access to use the network as a vehicle for expression and innovation,'" Wheeler continued.
The Communications and Technology Subcommittee is due to approve the FCC's budget on Wednesday, which will allow the panel to criticize the new rules and Wheeler's championing of strong net neutrality protections. "We intend to do our due diligence," Walden said Wednesday.
Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), one of the more vocal supporters of net neutrality, called the FCC's ruling last week an "enormous victory."
"But the fight isn't over as some Republicans are already working on legislation to undo all of this," he warned at the time. "So in the weeks and months ahead, I will continue to make sure everyone understands what's at stake, and why we need to stand by the strong rules adopted by the FCC."
In an interview with CNET on Tuesday, Franken said that concerns from right-leaning members of Congress over lost investments due to stricter internet regulations are a "false worry."
"The purpose of these rules is to simply preserve net neutrality and to make sure things don't change," Franken said. "I don't think it's the intent of anyone who has been for preserving net neutrality to impose stricter regulation."
In a speech last July, Franken called net neutrality "the First Amendment issue of our time."
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
A week after the Federal Communications Commission passed a landmark vote enshrining protections for net neutrality and mobile broadband, Republicans and cable industry giants are reiterating their vows to fight the ruling--but new comments by FCC chief Tom Wheeler indicate that the commission is ready to take them on.
Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), who heads the House Communications and Technology Subcommittee, on Wednesday said during an industry summit hosted by the American Cable Association that the FCC's new rules are "a total overreach," calling them "illogical and illegal."
The Republican-majority subcommittee spoke openly against the reforms in an 11th-hour meeting before the FCC's vote last week, hearing testimony from industry representatives on the "legal, economic and policy uncertainties" of the new rules.
Over the past year, internet service providers like AT&T and Comcast have also lobbied heavily against the regulations, strongly hinting that they are willing to sue to overturn them and claiming that they may hurt consumers and investors.
But Wheeler, who on Tuesday spoke at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, signaled that the commission is ready to defend net neutrality for the long haul.
"Those who were opposed to the open internet rules always liked to say, 'this is terrible, Depression-era monopoly regulation,' but the fact of the matter is we took the Title II concept and we modernized it," Wheeler said during a public question and answer session. "We built our model for net neutrality on the regulatory model that has been wildly successful in the United States for mobile."
Under one new rule, consumers will be able to complain about excessive bills and seek relief from the FCC--a rule which has garnered rancor from ISPs that claim it is tantamount to imposing tariffs on carriers. But as Wheeler explained on Tuesday, "There are no broad stroke regulations saying 'this is how you will do this.' That's old school regulation."
Rather, the FCC is operating under the "very simple statement that says 'no government or private entity will block people's access to use the network as a vehicle for expression and innovation,'" Wheeler continued.
The Communications and Technology Subcommittee is due to approve the FCC's budget on Wednesday, which will allow the panel to criticize the new rules and Wheeler's championing of strong net neutrality protections. "We intend to do our due diligence," Walden said Wednesday.
Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), one of the more vocal supporters of net neutrality, called the FCC's ruling last week an "enormous victory."
"But the fight isn't over as some Republicans are already working on legislation to undo all of this," he warned at the time. "So in the weeks and months ahead, I will continue to make sure everyone understands what's at stake, and why we need to stand by the strong rules adopted by the FCC."
In an interview with CNET on Tuesday, Franken said that concerns from right-leaning members of Congress over lost investments due to stricter internet regulations are a "false worry."
"The purpose of these rules is to simply preserve net neutrality and to make sure things don't change," Franken said. "I don't think it's the intent of anyone who has been for preserving net neutrality to impose stricter regulation."
In a speech last July, Franken called net neutrality "the First Amendment issue of our time."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.