Liberals are pressuring Democrats newly in power to pass net neutrality legislation, push for state-level internet regulations, and reinstate Obama-era Federal Communications Commission rules — the last of which they say is only a matter of time.
Net neutrality is the principle that internet service providers should treat all data on the internet the same and not discriminate or charge differently based on where it’s coming from or to whom it’s going. Under Republican FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, the FCC in 2017 voted down rules created by the commission in 2015 that classified internet service providers such as AT&T and Comcast as Title II public utilities, subject to FCC control.
Democrats at the FCC are expected to reinstate the 2015 Title II regulations on internet service providers after President Biden nominates a fifth commissioner and gives them the majority. The rules were meant to ensure the providers could not block or inhibit access to certain types of web services from different providers or create pay-to-play fast lanes for certain content.
“We will get net neutrality, and Title II will happen,” said Gigi Sohn, a former FCC adviser and a fellow at the Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law and Policy.
Sohn said that the bigger challenge would be pressing Congress to enact legislation, preventing industries from challenging regulations in court.
“We can stop this ping pong game between both sides on net neutrality that no one likes,” said Sohn, one of the most prominent liberal advocates for Title II regulations.
There is broad bipartisan support for the basic net neutrality protections of prohibiting providers from blocking legal content and services, throttling internet speeds, and charging for prioritization for certain websites.
Yet, Democrats say the Title II regulations are needed in order to provide basic oversight of internet providers and to ensure affordability and access to the internet. Republicans, on the other hand, say the rules would stifle the broadband industry and slow down the growth and expansion of internet services.
Liberal proponents of the Title II protections say that they don’t need to compromise with Republicans and will not settle for narrow net neutrality legislation in Congress that would ban blocking, throttling, and paid prioritization.
“Legislation is better than the ping-ponging, but we’re not going to settle for bad legislation because that’s harder to reverse,” said John Bergmayer, legal director at the public interest group Public Knowledge, which advocates for net neutrality protections.
Bergmayer noted that some states have enacted net neutrality regulations, and more are being pressured to do so by advocates. The state-level effort, combined with the Title II protections the Democratic-controlled FCC will put in place later this year, “gives a lot of leverage for net neutrality people not to settle for legislation that’s not enough,” Bergmayer said.
Bergmayer is pushing for FCC acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel to “publicly express” her plans for Title II protections. Doing so, he said, would deter internet providers from charging higher prices or changing their services in the meantime and encourage the Democratic majorities in Congress to aim for strong legislation.
Most Democrats in Congress, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, support the Title II regulations. Democrats introduced legislation to bring back the regulations along with other net neutrality protections in 2019, but because of Republican opposition, the bill did not pass.
“We need to stop having net neutrality ping pong from one administration to the next and pass a law to ensure an open and fair internet for everyone,” Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California told the Washington Examiner. Khanna represents Silicon Valley, home to tech companies such as Apple, Intel, and Yahoo.
Other liberal advocates for Title II regulations say they are urgently needed so that the FCC can oversee internet providers at a time when millions of people are working from home and sending their kids to school online.
“Kids should not be sitting outside Taco Bell in order to do their homework,” said Evan Greer, deputy director of the advocacy group Fight for the Future, a liberal organization that supports the Title II rules.
However, Republicans are staunchly opposed to the Title II regulations, in part, because the Title II protections would allow the federal government to regulate or control broadband internet prices if it wanted to.
Furthermore, Republicans like Pai often use Europe as an example of the Title II utility-style regulations gone wrong. Pai said last month that “parts of the digital divide in Europe are not getting addressed because there’s simply not an incentive to build those networks.”
Pai endorsed a “light touch” regulation of the internet on the basis that it boosts competition and infrastructure investment.
