The top Democrat on an Internet-focused panel, Sen. Brian Schatz, expects a record-setting public comment period will take aim at a proposal to dismantle “net neutrality” Internet regulations.
“My instinct is they have no idea how outraged people are about to be, or the volume and velocity and passion of the public comments that are going to come flowing in,” Schatz, who is the ranking member of the Democrat Commerce Subcommittee on Communications Technology, Innovation and the Internet, told TechCrunch.
He was reacting to Federal Communication Commission Chairman Ajit Pai’s speech Wednesday, in which he revealed his plan to “reverse the mistake” of the Obama-era FCC ruling in 2015 that classified Internet service providers like AT&T and Comcast as Title II public utilities. The regulations allowed more stringent FCC oversight over companies that might block or inhibit access to certain types of web services by creating pay-to-play fast lanes for certain content.
The text of the proposed rulemaking will be released today, according to Pai.
About 4 million members of the public file comments in 2014 on the proposed rule, a record according to the Obama administration, with a majority expressing support for stricter regulations.
Schatz predicted that Pai’s proposed rulemaking, which if approved in May will be followed by an open comment period, will break the 2014 record.
“I would not be at all surprised if it was a record number, and if they ran 50 to 1 against what the commission is proposing,” Schatz said.
He’s not the only Democrat preaching resistance.
During a call with reporters Wednesday, Sen. Richard Blumenthal warned that Pai and the Trump administration “should expect a tsunami of resistance from a grassroots movement of Americans from every walk of life who are 100 percent committed to defend net neutrality.”
