Free Press Research Director S. Derek Turner testified on Thursday on behalf of the Free Press Action Fund and the SavetheInternet.com coalition before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology. Turner’s testimony was part of a hearing on House Joint Resolution 37, a “resolution of disapproval” that seeks to overturn the Net Neutrality rules adopted by the Federal Communications Commission in December.

In his testimony, Turner criticized the resolution, calling it a “solution in search of a problem.”

As advocates for Net Neutrality, Free Press and the Free Press Action Fund opposed the FCC’s rules because they failed to adequately preserve and protect the open Internet on both wired and wireless platforms. But in his testimony, Turner called the congressional effort to overturn the rules a dangerous overreach.

He said:

Unfortunately, the debate around nondiscrimination has become immune to the calming powers of historical fact and susceptible to the ills of powerful special-interest politics and false partisan frames.

This resolution will leave consumers completely unprotected. It will remove the limited certainty that the FCC’s rules provide. Most importantly, it will bar the FCC from addressing even flagrant censorship and anti-competitive activities in the future. The principle of non-discrimination, which is the bedrock of Net Neutrality policy, was not always the political football it is today.

Click here for a copy of Turner’s full remarks. Click here for Turner's full written testimony.