Network Neutrality

House Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) and Communications Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) led a letter signed by over 100 Republican Reps to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on the upcoming vote restoring Internet freedom.

Upon receipt of a letter from New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman stating that it now appears that two million Americans’ identities may have been misused in the Federal Communications Commission record and a separate letter from 18 Attorneys General calling on the FCC to delay its net neutrality vote because of its “tainted” record, FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel released the following statement: “This is crazy. Two million people have had their identities stolen in an effort to corrupt our public record.

[Commentary] A comparison of the regulatory regime in place on January 17, 2014 (the day after Verizon v. FCC) and the anticipated regulatory regime as it will exist on January 17, 2018, and the Top 3 Ways They Are Totally And Completely Different In Ways That Make Consumers Worse Off. Even if we take the most literal and favorable interpretation of “we are just rolling things back to what they were before 2015” to mean “specifically, we are setting the regulatory way back machine to that magic day of January 17, 2014, the day after the D.C. Circuit in Verizon v.

Three of the largest internet service providers and their trade association have spent at least $26.3 million on lobbying the federal government since April 1 -- about $1.12 for every public comment filed with the government on a repeal of net neutrality rules. The battle over net neutrality shapes up as another defeat for Americans, who have been outmuscled by corporate money in the nation's capital on issues ranging from climate change to Ajit Pai, the former Verizon lawyer-turned-FCC head, announced that the commission would vote on a proposal to eliminate net neutrality on Dec 14.

In a letter sent to the Federal Communications Commission , 18 attorneys general from around the country called on the agency to delay the Dec 14 vote on a repeal of net neutrality protections. The 11th-hour letter, sent by the Oregon attorney general and signed by representatives of 17 states and DC, follows a high-profile press conference from the New York attorney general, who said the FCC had declined to investigate net neutrality comments posted under stolen identities.

Congressman Jerry McNerney (CA-09) submitted a formal request to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai, asking to address the full Commission at tomorrow’s open meeting. While outside entities have previously been given the opportunity to speak at these meetings – which are open to the public – Chairman Pai has disregarded this precedent and denied the Congressman’s request. Congressman McNerney said:

Let’s talk about the end of net neutrality in terms of a hellscape everyone knows: airport security lines. Imagine Verizon and Comcast are running the security lines—and websites and services are the ones trying to get through. With net neutrality, all those sites pass through at the same speed. But of course, airport security these days is all about a pecking order. There’s regular security and there’s the faster “TSA Pre” line.

Technically, Congress can take no action preventing the Federal Communications Commission from voting on Dec 14. Instead, it can only ask the agency to postpone or cancel the vote, and then try to pass a law governing Internet access.

Michael Powell, president of NCTA – The Internet & Television Association; Meredith Attwell Baker, president of CTIA; and Jonathan Spalter, president, USTelecom, all members of the Broadband for America coalition, pledged, once again, not to block or throttle content.

• Since November 28, cable news has given net neutrality minimal coverage: approximately four minutes each on CNN and Fox News and more than eight minutes on MSNBC.
• Since November 28, broadcast news networks have given net neutrality minimal coverage on their morning and evening news programs and Sunday political talk shows: more than eight minutes on NBC and a little more than two minutes on CBS. ABC did not cover net neutrality in this time period.