Congress can’t ‘fix’ net neutrality with a new bill. Here’s why.

[Commentary] The path to victory for network neutrality supporters requires strong leadership from Capitol Hill — but it shouldn’t include a legislative “fix.” First of all, we have a good law already. It’s called Title II of the Communications Act.  What’s more, the Title II Net Neutrality rules have been upheld in court. And the existing law is immensely popular among Republican and Democratic voters, public advocates and businesses. Passing a new bill with enough support from current Republican leadership would mean watering down the rules and undermining internet users’ rights. Even if a new bill closed those loopholes, Title II does more than simply protect Net Neutrality. The existing statute also gives the FCC unquestionable legal authority to modernize the Lifeline program subsidizing low-income families’ access to broadband. Title II also gives the FCC authority to protect our privacy from broadband providers’ intrusions. (You might remember this fight from March, when Congress repealed the FCC’s strong privacy rules. We’re still waiting on that “replacement”.) But what about a perfect bill that enshrined both Net Neutrality and all other relevant Title II protections? It would be dead on arrival in this Congress.