Senate Republican Leaders to FCC: Leave Internet Open and Free

US Senate Republican leaders, including Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Whip John Cornyn (R-TX), Conference Chairman and Ranking Member of the Commerce Committee John Thune (R-SD), Policy Chairman John Barrasso (R-WY), Conference Vice Chairman Roy Blunt (R-MO), and National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Jerry Moran (R-KS), sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler urging the Commission to abandon any efforts to impose so-called “net neutrality” regulations on the Internet.

In their letter, the senators underscore the “politically corrosive” nature of the FCC’s contemplated regulations, and urge the FCC to reject calls to impose Title II regulations on “the nation’s competitive and dynamic broadband economy.” The letter highlights the danger to the Internet of treating it as a government-regulated utility. The Senate leaders say, “Rather than attempting further legal contortions to encumber modern communications networks with last century’s rules, the Commission should work with the Congress to develop clear statutory authority and direction for the agency so that it can be a productive regulator for the 21st century marketplace.”