The House Energy and Commerce Committee on Tuesday is set to grill members of the Federal Communication Commission on the role the White House played in the commission’s takeover of Internet service providers last year, and to look at the agency’s new effort to enact more privacy regulations.
“There is perhaps no more unsettling demonstration of the erosion of the integrity of FCC’s process,” states a majority memo on the hearing, than the disclosure of the “influence of the White House in the outcome of the FCC’s Open Internet Order.”
A report released at the beginning of the month by the Senate Homeland Sercurity Committee suggested that the FCC’s staff worked to tailor the 2015 Open Internet Order, which classified ISPs as public utilities subject to the FCC’s jurisdiction, to the wishes of the president. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, a Democrat, has insisted the president had no influence over the process.
Related Story: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/article/2576203
By placing ISPs under the control of the FCC, the providers are no longer under the jurisdiction of the Federal Trade Commission. As a result, the FCC is considering whether to pass privacy regulations that would restrict what companies can do with consumer data, something that would typically take place at the FTC. Republicans have characterized the proposal as an “unprecedented foray into the realm of online privacy.”
“Privacy experts cast doubt on the premise underlying the FCC’s approach, stating that ‘ISP access to user data is not comprehensive — technical developments place substantial limits on ISP’s visibility,’ and other companies — including so-called edge providers — ‘often have access to more information and a wider range of user information than ISPs,’ ” the majority memo states.
Edge providers refer to purveyors of online services, such as Google, Facebook and Twitter. Critics of the FCC’s proposed rules have argued that by creating rules that apply only to ISPs, the FCC will be giving a monopoly on the marketing of personal data to such companies.
The panel is being characterized as an oversight hearing for the agency, and is set to include all five members of the commission. Such hearings are not common, but have been held with increasing frequency for the FCC in recent months.
Related Story: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/article/2586034
The agency’s Open Internet Order is facing a legal challenge in the District Court for the District of Columbia. Wheeler has said he expects the court to issue a ruling within the next few weeks.
