Former FCC Chair Tom Wheeler: Net Neutrality Fight Destined For Courtroom

Rep Don Beyer (D-VA) held a forum just outside of DC for his constituents to come learn and voice their concerns about the fate of network neutrality. Though Rep Beyer was the host, the real headliners of the event were former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler and former FCC general counsel Jon Sallet, who both spoke at length to a packed house about how we got to where we are today, with the rules under fire, and what consumers can still do to try and make their voices heard. A couple key take-aways?

No Neutrality Without Title II: “What I hope you’ll think about is that that legal term is a smokescreen for not having to discuss” the bright-line net neutrality principles, privacy guidelines, and the FCC’s oversight authority, Wheler said. “Those who are trying to overturn the rules want to talk about them in these [legalistic] terms, instead of talking about the effect of Title II.” “We looked hard to see if there would be ways other than Title II to accomplish these goals,” Wheeler said. “They weren’t there.”

Why Commenting Is Important: Both Sallet and Wheeler admitted that the FCC’s mind is probably already made up, no matter what public comments come in to the proceeding now. But those comments become vital in the case of a lawsuit and “can shape what happens if it’s necessary to go to court one more time,” as Sallet put it. “We can all predict what can happen at the FCC, but I can tell you this,” Sallet said: “When I was general counsel, I didn’t think that what the FCC said was the last word. I knew there would be a day in court.”