Sen Markey Leads Title II Fans in Last-Minute Push

With the days dwindling down to the Federal Communications Commission's May 18 planned vote on a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to roll back Title II classification of Internet service providers, Sen Ed Markey (D-MA) joined a dozen other Democratic lawmakers in a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai telling him not to "gut" net neutrality protections. Sen Markey has been a leader in the pushback on modifying/unwinding the FCC's Open Internet order, vowing to fight the effort on all fronts.

In the letter, the lawmakers issue with both rolling back Title II and the suggestion—which sources said was raised in meetings between Chairman Pai and ISPs—that the Federal Trade Commission could enforce voluntary openness pledges along the lines of the Open Internet order rules against blocking and throttling and anticompetitive paid prioritization. They said since a court had upheld the FCC's reclassification, the issue was settled and should remain so. As to voluntary guidelines, they said those do not provide the certainty that innovators and "anyone else" can get access to viewers and customers and leaves ISPs as the gatekeepers.