Should Congress Rewrite the Telecom Act? Here’s What the Experts Think

The 9th Annual State of the Net Conference featured a panel discussion titled “Should Congress Rewrite the Telecom Act?” in which a variety of industry experts, including TAP Scholar Christopher Yoo, shared their opinions. Moderator Tim Lordan, executive director of the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee, asked each panelist to answer the title question with their initial reaction before taking a deeper dive into the debate.

The full panel included:

• Christopher Yoo, John H. Chestnut Professor of Law, Communication, and Computer & Information Science, University of Pennsylvania Law School
• Larry Downes, Consultant & Author
• Cathy Sloan, Vice President Government Relations, Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA)
• Corie Wright, Netflix

While there seemed to be some general consensus that rewriting the Telecom Act at some point made sense, there were a variety of opinions and perspectives on how, when and why the telecommunications law should be modified. Professor Yoo believes the worst approach would be not rewriting the Act at all. Cathy Sloan with CCIA agrees it is only a matter of time, but was clear now is not the right time. Though, she believes it is inevitable that a rewrite of the law will occur in the near future.