Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai on Wednesday revealed his plans for rolling back net neutrality, one of the most controversial items up for consideration at the agency.
During a speech at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., Pai said he plans to hand regulatory jurisdiction of broadband providers back to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), an agency that critics argue is less prepared to handle them.
Originally passed under Democrat Tom Wheeler’s chairmanship, the net neutrality rules — more formally referred to as the Open Internet Order of 2015 — set restrictions on internet service providers (ISPs) prioritizing certain kinds of web traffic and throttling others. The rules were broadly aimed at establishing a level playing field for companies on the internet.
Broadband companies quickly praised Pai’s proposal.
"We applaud FCC Chairman Pai's initiative to remove this stifling regulatory cloud over the internet,” AT&T said in a blog post. “Businesses large and small will have a clearer path to invest more in our nation's broadband infrastructure under Chairman Pai's leadership.”
The company said that despite the proposed changes, AT&T “continues to support the fundamental tenets of net neutrality.”
Broadband provider Charter Communications also expressed support for net neutrality principles.
"Charter’s support for an open internet is an integral part of our commitment to deliver a superior broadband experience to our customers," Charter CEO Thomas Rutledge said. "That will never change."
Notably, Pai did not once utter the phrase “net neutrality” during his remarks, opting to refer to the principles as the “open internet.”
Telecommunications companies and Republicans at the FCC have argued that net neutrality is an example of the government overstepping its boundaries with onerous regulations that stifle broadband innovation and investment.
Republicans in Congress also expressed their support for Pai's plan.
“We have long said that imposing a Depression-era, utility-style regulatory structure onto the internet was the wrong approach, and we applaud Chairman Pai’s efforts to roll back these misguided regulations," Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.), House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-Ore.), Senate Communications, Technology and the Internet Subcommittee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and House Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) said in a joint statement.
"Consumers want an open internet that doesn’t discriminate on content and protects free speech and consumer privacy,” they added.
continued...http://thehill.com/policy/technology...net-neutrality
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