FCC Hosts Legal Debate Over Net Neutrality Authority

The Federal Communications Commission's final day of network neutrality forums focused on legal options for restoring new rules, so Title II vs. Sec. 706 got a lot of attention, but so did various hybrid models -- proposed by AT&T, Rep Henry Waxman (D-CA), Mozilla and others -- that would replace the "vs." with an ampersand.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler signaled from the outset of the forum that, while he didn't mind debate, he did not want the parties retreating into their corners and shouting their talking points. There was no shouting, though there was some impassioned pleas not to let comedian John Oliver or Netflix define the debate, and a Nebraska public service commissioner who invoking Larry the Cable Guy, sternly dressed down the lawyers and told them to "get 'er done" [rules preventing blocking and prioritizing) for the sake of consumers.