Former FCC Chairman Wheeler Challenges Chairman Pai to Push for a House Net Neutrality Vote

Former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler has challenged current Chairman Ajit Pai to push for a House vote on the Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to nullify Pai's Restoring Internet Freedom order rolling back network neutrality rules. Wheeler, who focused his regulatory attention on Internet service providers as the gatekeepers of the internet, also signaled that had been because of the FCC's limited authority, and that he felt it was time that the "peoples representative" had oversight and made the rules for the edge and access providers. His answer was essentially an endorsement of the kind of new scrutiny of the edge being advocated by ISPs, Chairman Pai and legislators from both parties. "I am a proponent of openness, nondiscrimination and privacy in all venues," Wheeler said. "It just happened that while I was at the FCC, we only had jurisdiction over networks. But there comes a time when we have to say, 'Wait a minute, what are the rules that are going to govern this new environment. And, most important, who's going to make those rules.?' Right now, whether you are a platform company, like Google of Facebook, or whether you are networks like AT&T and Comcast, you make the rules. There ought to be oversight by the people's representatives so that the people's representatives make the rules, not just those who benefit from what those rules might be."