Broadband Service Requires FCC Oversight, Nominee Tells Senate

Federal Communications Commission nominee Anna Gomez left little doubt that if confirmed, she would vote in favor of classifying broadband as a Title II telecommunications service—a move that would enable the agency to prohibit carriers from blocking or throttling web traffic. Gomez told lawmakers that internet access was too essential to remain unregulated. “Title II gives the strongest oversight to the FCC over the service,” she added. Broadband is currently considered a Title I information service—and is largely unregulated. Title II classification, by contrast, would allow the FCC to impose common-carrier regulations—including ones that could prohibit internet access providers from censoring traffic. Another issue set to come up for a vote before the FCC by the end of 2023 is rulemaking on digital discrimination. One topic up for debate, and an area of disagreement between the industry and consumer advocates, is whether the FCC should define digital discrimination as solely "intentional" – as preferred by the industry – versus defining it as practices that produce disparate outcomes, as encouraged by some advocacy groups. Gomez declined to comment directly, telling Sen. Cruz (R-TX), "The issue of digital discrimination is something I know Congress tasked the Commission with looking at... but I need to be able to sit down and dig into the record and look at the notice of proposed rulemaking in order to be able to give you an informed answer." Further, Gomez stressed the importance of the Universal Service Fund (USF) and said she would work with the committee if confirmed, "on addressing ways to ensure that we can protect the program going forward."