The next battle between Congress and President Obama may be over the Internet.
With the Federal Communications Commission poised to soon announce new “net neutrality” rules endorsed by the president, the Republican-led Congress is suddenly scrambling to draft a counter plan that lawmakers say will protect Internet users without heavy government regulation they say could stifle the industry.
Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., have both planned Jan. 21 hearings on how Congress should protect consumers from discriminatory practices by Internet service providers, such as “throttling,” when an Internet company purposely slows down service, and paid prioritization for certain websites.
Lawmakers are hoping to craft a measure before Feb. 26, when the FCC plans to vote on new rules that could re-classify the Internet as a public utility under Title II of the Communications Act.
Republicans, some of them under pressure from the major Internet service providers, are staunchly opposed to reclassification, which would give the FCC the same regulatory power it wields over the big phone companies and other utilities.
Obama, however, is urging the FCC to go forward with the reclassification, which he said is necessary to ensure “a free and open Internet.”
With Republicans determined to stop the looming FCC action, the divide could lead to another in a series of possible veto fights with the president in the months ahead.
In an op-ed published by Reuters, Thune and Upton last week called Title II an outdated, “ill-fitting tool” for regulating the Internet. They say it could stifle innovation and result in billions of dollars in new government fees and taxes.
Thune and Upton say they have drafted a working proposal that makes FCC interference unnecessary.
Upton told the Washington Examiner the legislation would aim to achieve “a balance” between protecting consumers and allowing the Internet industry to thrive.
The measure, which could be unveiled as early as this week, encompasses a list of key principles for regulating the Internet, many of them similar to what Obama said he is seeking.
The list includes prohibiting Internet service providers from blocking or throttling customers and would ban paid prioritization, a practice that allows some content providers to pay extra to avoid network congestion by “jumping in line.”
The Thune and Upton legislation, its backers say, would increase transparency and protect consumer choice. It would apply to both hardline and wireless Internet.
The proposal would also block the FCC from regulating the Internet as a public utility.
Instead, the legislation would maintain broadband Internet’s current classification as an information service under the Communications Act. This classification excludes Internet service providers from the non-discrimination laws that public utilities must follow.
The major Internet service providers have threatened to sue if the FCC gives them a Title II classification — another reason, Republicans say, to allow Congress to pass a law instead.
“Reclassification under Title II, which for the first time would apply 1930s-era utility regulation to the Internet, would be a radical reversal of course that would in and of itself threaten great harm to an open Internet, competition and innovation,” Verizon officials said in a statement.
It wouldn’t be the first time the courts have weighed in.
In January last year, a federal appeals court threw out FCC rules requiring Internet service providers to treat all customers the same. The decision was based on the classification of the Internet as an information service. The court ruling prompted the FCC to try again with enforcement, this time by reclassifying the Internet as a utility.
The Internet Association, a lobbying firm for the Internet giants, including Amazon, eBay, Google and Netflix, said it is open to the congressional proposal, but urged the FCC to move ahead with its own regulations.
“What really matters is the Internet user’s online experience and the creation of strong, enforceable rules to protect an open Internet,” association president Michael Beckerman said.
