FCC Commissioner O'Rielly: No Harm, No Need For Net Neutrality Rules

Republican FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly suggests neither the old or new network neutrality rules are necessary since there is no problem that those rules presume need solving.

Commissioner O'Rielly worked on Sec. 706 of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, which FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler is using to buttress his new network neutrality draft rules, on the advice of a Federal Court, and told a C-SPAN Communicators audience that he disagrees with both Wheeler and the court that the section gives the FCC that authority.

"That is a big hurdle for me to get past," he said. He also said the talk has been about prospective harms but that there aren't actually any instances of harm today.

Commissioner O'Rielly said that broadband providers are providing a "good experience" and complying with "simple principles they think meet the needs of consumers." He said he did not want to regulate what "may happen" in the future.

Commissioner O'Rielly said the IPS's he has talked to have said they don't block or discriminate and have no intention to do so. "They want to provide a good experience to consumers," he said.