Diametrically Opposed FCC Commissioners Both Agree That Tom Wheeler Should Pull Back On Net Neutrality Rule Making

from the think-this-through dept

So last night we wrote about over 100 internet companies asking Tom Wheeler, to rethink his plans for his open internet "net neutrality" rule making -- warning that proposed rules that harm an open internet would be a very bad thing. In that post, we mentioned that FCC commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel had asked Tom Wheeler to delay his plan to push forward with the rulemaking, but that Wheeler intended to move forward anyway. This morning, the pile-on against Wheeler continued, starting with a fantastic letter from over 50 venture capitalists who invest in the internet space, warning what bad rules will do to innovation and the economy (a letter they put together in less than a day).

And then another FCC commissioner, Ajit Pai, also asked Wheeler to hold off and not offer up his open internet rules at the meeting next week. It would be big in general to see two FCC commissioners directly asking the FCC chair to hold off, but it's especially noteworthy that it's Pai and Rosenworcel doing this -- as they tend to come at things from the opposite end of the spectrum (FCC-ish pun not intended). Pai is a Republican commissioner and Rosenworcel is a Democratic one -- and they generally don't agree on much, policy wise. In fact, it's unlikely they agree on why these rules should be stalled -- but at least they both realize that rushing forward with half-baked rules are a serious problem.

For about a decade now, I've argued that one of the reasons why net neutrality became a "toxic" issue was because it became a partisan issue. In the early days it wasn't, but somewhere in the mid-2000s, it suddenly became a "Democratic" issue, and Republicans started attacking it. And that just killed any rational discussion about keeping an open internet. Perhaps, now that the issue is finally getting renewed attention, we can get passed partisan bickering and focus on making sure that the internet actually remains open, with greater competition, and continued freedom to innovate.

Filed Under: ajit pai, fcc, jessica rosenworcel, net neutrality, open internet, tom wheeler, venture capitalists

Over 100 Internet Companies Call On FCC To Protect The Open Internet

from the don't-fail-us-fcc dept

As the net neutrality debate has kicked into overdrive, over 100 internet companies -- including most of the big names such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft, Netflix, Amazon, Ebay, Reddit, Automattic, Yahoo, Kickstarter, as well as many smaller names, such as us here at Floor64/Techdirt -- have all signed onto a letter to the FCC asking it to actually suck it up and protect the open internet. Consider this a warning shot to the FCC from the internet community. The community knows what's at stake in this fight and it's watching closely what the FCC does. Having helped to get some of the companies to sign on, I can say that many leaders at companies are both very informed on the topic, and very engaged about it. If the FCC thinks it can sneak one by the tech community, that may be more difficult than it expects.

Along those lines, one FCC commissioner, Jessica Rosenworcel, has suggested that the FCC should put the brakes on its net neutrality plans to think things through a bit more carefully -- though apparently FCC boss Tom Wheeler has rejected that idea and plans to move forward with his rule-making proposal next week.

Filed Under: broadband, fcc, jessica rosenworcel, net neutrality, open internet, silicon valley, tech industry, tom wheeler
Companies: amazon, automattic, ebay, facebook, floor64, google, kickstarter, microsoft, netflix, reddit, twitter, yahoo