Jeb Bush: Net Neutrality Decision Is ‘Crazy’

Former Florida Gov Jeb Bush said that he opposes the Federal Communications Commission’s attempts to regulate broadband Internet providers. Echoing arguments made by cable companies and many Republicans in Congress, the likely 2016 GOP presidential candidate argued that the FCC’s decision to approve the strongest-ever rules on network neutrality would “stifle competition, stifle innovation.”

Taking questions from Iowa voters at a Cedar Rapids Pizza Ranch, Bush noted that the decision rested on an interpretation of the Communications Act of 1934. “The idea of regulating access to the Internet with a 1934 law is one of the craziest ideas I’ve ever heard,” he said. It was the first time Bush had weighed in on the subject since the FCC voted. “Just think of the logic of using a 1934 law that was designed when we did have a monopoly for wire-line service as the basis to regulate the most dynamic part of life in America,” Bush said. “It’s not going to be good for consumers. It’s certainly not going to be good for innovation.” Bush accused Obama of “steamrolling” the independent FCC by calling on it to make the decision. “I hope that Congress acts on this” to reverse it, he added.