Reaction to FCC's Network Neutrality Action (updated)

Here's a collection of statements in response to the Federal Communications Commission's adoption of open Internet/network neutrality rules on Dec 21.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski voted for the Order: "As we stand here now, the freedom and openness of the Internet are unprotected. No rules on the books to protect basic Internet values. No process for monitoring Internet openness as technology and business models evolve. No recourse for innovators, consumers, or speakers harmed by improper practices. And no predictability for Internet service providers, so that they can effectively manage and invest in broadband networks. That will change once we vote to approve this strong and balanced order. The vote on this order comes after many months of debate -- which has often produced more heat than light. Almost everyone says that they agree that the openness of the Internet is essential -- that openness has unleashed an enormous wave of innovation, economic growth, job creation, small business generation, and vibrant free expression. But despite a shared allegiance to the Internet as an open platform, there has been intense disagreement about the role of government in preserving Internet freedom and openness."

"In years to come," said FCC Commissioner Michael Copps who concurred with the Order, "I hope we can look back on this day as an important turning point in the struggle to ensure the continued openness of the Internet against powerful gatekeeper control. On numerous fronts in the Open Internet Order before us today, the Commission is taking strides forward. On others, I pray that our timidity will not undermine the spirit of the Order that we are adopting."

Voting against the Order, FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell said, "We agree that the Internet is, and should remain, open and freedom enhancing. It is, and always has been so, under existing law. Beyond that, we disagree. The contrasts between our perspectives could not be sharper.... Today, the Commission is choosing to ignore the recent past as it attempts the same act. In so doing, the FCC is not only defying a court, but it is circumventing the will of a large, bipartisan majority of Congress as well. More than 300 Members have warned the agency against exceeding its legal authority. The FCC is not Congress. We cannot make laws. Legislating is the sole domain of the directly elected representatives of the American people. Yet the majority is determined to ignore the growing chorus of voices emanating from Capitol Hill in what appears to some as an obsessive quest to regulate at all costs. Some are saying that, instead of acting as a "cop on the beat," the FCC looks more like a regulatory vigilante."

FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn approved the Order and said, "Left to my own devices, there are several issues I would have tackled differently. As such, I am approving in part and concurring in part to today's Order. While I appreciate the Chairman's recognition of some of my concerns, and the adjustments made in the Order to allay those concerns, there are several areas in the Order I would have strengthened so that more consumers would benefit from the protections we are adopting. First, I would have extended all of the fixed rules to mobile, so that those consumers who heavily or exclusively rely upon mobile broadband would be fully protected.... Second, I would have prohibited pay for priority arrangements altogether.... Third, an open Internet should be available to all end users-residential, enterprise, for-profit, or not.... Finally, earlier this year I stated my preference for the Commission's legal authority over broadband Internet access service. While the route taken here is not the one I originally preferred, I believe that it is appropriate for the Commission to act to protect an open Internet. I know there will be many lawyers studying the legal authority cited in this Order in the weeks, months and perhaps years ahead, and judicial review ultimately will determine the fate of this Order. I sincerely hope that the Commission's authority to protect consumers' access to an open Internet is upheld."

"Preserving the open Internet is non-negotiable," saif FCC Commissioner Meredith Baker who voted against the Order, "it is a bedrock principle shared by all in the Internet economy, a building block on which we can all agree. And, the Internet is open today. The evidentiary record in our proceeding has reaffirmed that government action is not necessary to preserve it. Yet the majority acts, and acts decisively, to adopt Net Neutrality rules, imposing the heavy hand of government into how broadband networks will be managed and operated. The data most certainly does not drive us to this result. In the final analysis, the Commission intervenes to regulate the Internet because it wants to, not because it needs to. I cannot support this decision. It is not a consumer-driven or engineering-focused decision. It is not motivated by a tangible competitive harm or market failure. The majority bypasses a market power analysis altogether, and acts on speculative harms alone. The majority is unable to identify a single ongoing practice of a single broadband provider that it finds problematic upon which to base this action. In the end, the Internet will be no more open tomorrow than it is today."

President Barack Obama: "Today’s decision will help preserve the free and open nature of the Internet while encouraging innovation, protecting consumer choice, and defending free speech. Throughout this process, parties on all sides of this issue – from consumer groups to technology companies to broadband providers – came together to make their voices heard. This decision is an important component of our overall strategy to advance American innovation, economic growth, and job creation. As a candidate for President, I pledged to preserve the freedom and openness that have allowed the Internet to become a transformative and powerful platform for speech and expression. That’s a pledge I’ll continue to keep as President. As technology and the market continue to evolve at a rapid pace, my Administration will remain vigilant and see to it that innovation is allowed to flourish, that consumers are protected from abuse, and that the democratic spirit of the Internet remains intact. I congratulate the FCC, its Chairman, Julius Genachowski, and Congressman Henry Waxman for their work achieving this important goal today."

"The Commission's framework constitutes a floor, not a ceiling, on basic protections. If the rule’s protections prove insufficient and consumers and innovation suffer, they will need to be strengthened, and I will vigorously support that effort," said House Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA).

House Republicans are promising a swift reaction to the Federal Communication Commission's net-neutrality rules that could get off the ground as soon as January. Incoming House Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (Mich.) said in a press conference on Tuesday that his committee is planning multiple hearings to beat back the regulations. Rep Upton said Congress must "use every resource available" to halt the regulations. "The FCC's hostile actions toward innovation, investment and job creation cannot be allowed to stand," he said. Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) will take the lead on beating back the regulations as chairman of the Communications subcommittee, while the Trade and Oversight subcommittees will also play a role. Hearings are likely to focus on the impact of the rules, their legal underpinnings, and the process used to pass them, which opponents have described as opaque. They said they will explore every legislative vehicle to halt the regulations, including the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to repeal regulations. A budget amendment is another option.

Rep Bobby Rush (D-IL), a key Democrat on the House Communications Subcommittee, said he would fight any efforts by Republicans to overturn the open Internet rules. While he has concerns that the FCC excluded wireless broadband from its prohibition on "unreasonable" discrimination, the net neutrality order is a step in the right direction. Rules requiring greater transparency of broadband providers network management practices and barring the blocking of access to lawful content, applications and services would apply to wireless broadband. While he said he is still considering whether to push to extend all the rules to wireless, "one thing I am going to fight against are any efforts by Republicans to repeal the FCC's order," Rep Rush said, adding that any effort by Republicans to derail this process is off-targeted, ill conceived and needs to be resisted."

Rep Maxine Waters (D-CA) said that she was "very concerned" that the FCC's just-adopted network neutrality regulations are "insufficient and harmful to many American consumers," including creating a mobile digital divide. Her chief problem is that not all the rules apply to wireless broadband, a technology that is disproportionately used by African Americans and Latinos. "Although the new rules bar fixed broadband Internet providers from "unreasonable discrimination" against Web traffic, they exempt mobile broadband providers -- leaving millions without critical consumer protections and leading to a fractured Internet."

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY): "The Obama administration, which has already nationalized healthcare, the auto industry, insurance companies, banks and student loans, will move forward with what could be a first step in controlling how Americans use the Internet by establishing federal regulations on its use."

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV): "I am pleased that under the leadership of Chairman Julius Genachowski the FCC voted to move ahead today and address network neutrality. By and large, I believe that this effort, along with ongoing oversight and enforcement, will protect consumers and provide companies with the certainty they need to make investments in our growing digital economy. While many champions of the open Internet would have preferred a stricter decision — and I myself have real reservations about treating wireless broadband differently from wired broadband — I think today's decision is a meaningful step forward. This effort is undoubtedly better due to the hard work of Commissioner Copps, who has a long-standing commitment to network neutrality and deep and abiding interest in how communications technology can enhance our democratic discourse. I also wholeheartedly thank Commissioner Clyburn for her efforts to bring us to this decision today." Sen Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), Ranking Member on the Senate Commerce Committee, said new regulations adopted by the Federal Communications Commission threaten the future economic growth of the Internet. Sen. Hutchison also said she will introduce a resolution of disapproval in an effort to halt the new rules.

Sen Al Franken (D-MN) said, "The good news is that, thanks to Commissioners Copps and Clyburn -- not to mention a nationwide network of net neutrality activists -- the proposal approved today is better than the original circulated by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski.... The bad news is that, while it's no longer worse than nothing, the rule approved today is not nearly strong enough to protect consumers or preserve the free and open Internet. And with so much at stake, I cannot support it."

Public Knowledge called on its supporters to tweet that future openness battles had not been headed off because the FCC "punted" on the hard questions. "This was supposed to be an FCC that fought for you, instead it has forced you to fight for yourself. They created rules filled with loopholes and undefined terms," the group said.

Free Press called the vote a "squandered opportunity," saying the order contained loopholes that indicated it was done to appease bit networks rather than "millions of Americans who asked for real Net Neutrality."

But not all the network neutrality fan reaction was so negative.

"Dish Network applauds chairman Genachowski and commissioners Copps and Clyburn for adopting critically important net neutrality rules. The commission's order is a solid framework for protecting the open Internet," said Dish chairman and CEO Charlie Ergen in a statement.

Markham Ericson of the Open Internet Coalition, which had participated in some stakeholder talks about a compromise proposal, said that "today's vote, coupled with strong future enforcement, would provide a degree of certainty to all participants in the broadband marketplace and help foster an open wireline Internet online ecosystem." Ericson, however, also said the regulations should apply equally to wireless and wired broadband. The order only applies some of them to wireless, citing the nascent mobile broadband market and differences in network architecture.

Benton Foundation's Policy Counsel, Amina Fazlullah: "Today the Federal Communications Commission took a step towards protecting the free and open Internet. However, enforcement will be the true test of these rules' effectiveness: the FCC must continue to closely watch broadband industry practices and be prepared to swiftly and strictly enforce these important rules. We believe that there should be one set of Open Internet rules for both wireline and wireless Internet consumers. Today’s Internet consumers are already seamlessly moving between wired and wireless devices and the rules that protect consumers and the Internet should do the same. The Benton Foundation welcomes the FCC's action and urges it to quickly act to codify stronger protections for consumers in the mobile space."

The reaction from industry was mixed, too.

Tom Tauke, Verizon's chief lobbyist, said, "Although we share with the FCC the overarching goals of an open Internet, we are deeply concerned by today’s 3-2 decision. The FCC’s majority breaks with years of bipartisan communications policies that recognized that Internet innovation and investment – and the jobs they create – thrive without government intervention. There is no doubt that the policies put in place by the Clinton Administration and the Bush Administration to jumpstart innovation and the spread of broadband worked. As a result, America’s broadband and Internet marketplace is intensely competitive and an engine of economic growth, job creation and multi-billion dollar investment. Today’s decision, however, unnecessarily departs from these successful policies."

National Cable & Telecommunications Association President Kyle McSlarrow said that he agreed with the Republican commissioners--who voted against the rules--that they were unnecessary, but said since it had been clear there were three votes for rules that would have gone much farther, the association's goal had been rules that would avoid unintended consequences and that preserved investment and innovation. Comcast said the FCC's new network neutrality regulations appear to strike a "workable balance."

Paul Gallant, an analyst at MF Global, said the odds are steep if congressional Republicans want to repeal the Federal Communications Commission's new network neutrality regulations, which the agency approved over strong objections from GOP commissioners.