Big Internet Firms to Oppose GOP Plans to Roll Back Net-Neutrality Rules
Big Internet Firms to Oppose GOP Plans to Roll Back
Net-Neutrality Rules
The Internet Association trade group has told the Federal
Communications Commission chairman that the Obama-era rules are ‘vital’ to a
‘free and open internet’
By John D. McKinnon April 12, 2017 6:00 a.m. ET
WASHINGTON—Big internet firms on Tuesday told federal
regulators that they would oppose Republicans’ plans to roll back net Obama-era
neutrality rules, adding to signs of a looming political clash.
The Internet Association, a trade group that includes
companies such as of Netflix Inc. and Facebook Inc., told Federal
Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai in a meeting that it “continues its
vigorous support of the FCC’s [net-neutrality] order,” the group said in a regulatory
filing. It added that the net-neutrality rules are “a vital component of the
free and open internet.”
The FCC declined to comment.
Individual companies involved in the group, such as
Alphabet Inc.’s Google, didn’t comment on the meeting, but the organization
itself indicated its members were united in their view.
“The internet industry is uniform in its belief that net
neutrality preserves the consumer experience, competition, and innovation
online,” the group said. “In other words, existing net-neutrality rules should
be enforced and kept intact.”
Tuesday’s meeting followed one last week in which Mr.
Pai, who was appointed chairman by President Donald Trump, suggested privately
to telecommunications industry groups that he is aiming to propose reversing
the FCC’s 2015 net-neutrality order soon.
Those rules require internet-service providers such as
cable and wireless firms to treat all internet traffic the same. The
internet-service providers generally have opposed the rules, arguing that the
FCC went too far in reclassifying them as common carriers. They say they
support the basic outlines of net neutrality, however.
The plan, still being developed by Mr. Pai, apparently is
expected to attempt to preserve basic elements of net neutrality, such as no
blocking or throttling, while eventually shifting oversight responsibility to
the Federal Trade Commission and reversing the reclassification.
After his meeting last week, word of his plans quickly
spread through the internet community, and activists said they were mobilizing
to fight it, setting up a replay of epic battles in 2014 and 2015 over net
neutrality.
Many consumer groups and congressional Democrats argue
that the current rules—including reclassification—are necessary to preserve
competition. Telecommunications firms have said little publicly.
The Internet Association’s regulatory filing holds out
some potential room for compromise. The association said that while it
“continues its work to protect consumers by maintaining existing FCC rules, its
primary focus is on the end result—meaningful net-neutrality rules that
withstand the test of time.”
The association has previously argued that
reclassification of internet-service providers as common carriers isn’t
necessary to effective open-internet regulation. Still, Tuesday’s regulatory
filing suggests the group has begun to mount a vigorous defense of the existing
FCC rules. Notably, the group said the rules should be enforced by the FCC.
Any effort by Mr. Pai to tamper with the reclassification
is also likely to be met by fierce opposition from consumer groups and
Democrats on Capitol Hill.
Write to John D. McKinnon at john.mckinnon@wsj.com
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