Network Neutrality

Democrats have promised to take technology issues like network neutrality and broadband privacy to the voters in the 2018 midterms. And fresh off the July 4 holiday, many of them will be doing just that at town hall events across the country. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) is hosting an event with Federal Communications Commission member Mignon Clyburn on July 7 focusing on net neutrality and "rules put in place during the Obama administration protecting a free and open internet [that] have come under attack." Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) are also huddling with constituents for events that may include talk of broadband privacy and internet surveillance.

Sen Ron Wyden (D-OR) says only an outpouring of public opposition to proposed federal changes can save the internet from becoming an "information aristocracy." The Sen said that a proposal by the Federal Communications Commission — now led by an appointee of President Donald Trump — will end the principle of internet service providers treating all data the same, no matter who originates it, what the content is, or how it is delivered. "We are trying to create a citizen juggernaut so that politicians cannot look the other way," Sen Wyden said at the Friday Forum of the City Club of Portland, cosponsored by the World Affairs Council of Oregon. "I am telling you that citizen pressure really matters — and we have to have it now in the fight for net neutrality. It is a federal policy that embodies the Oregon way and gives everybody a fair shake."

[Commentary] It’s clear that most US consumers depend upon a few big players in order to access the internet. Therefore, the critical question is whether these companies have the incentive and ability to harm consumers and competition. That is, are they motivated to control what kinds of innovations come to consumers? And do they have the tools to do so? Both the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice have recognized in recent proceedings that the answers are yes and yes.

In 1776, Thomas Paine didn’t need the permission of any other content creator or distributor to circulate Common Sense. But without rules prohibiting blocking, throttling, and the like, broadband providers would gain the power to limit what unpopular content flows over their networks—to the detriment of consumers and democracy. One challenger to the 2015 Open Internet Order argued exactly this to the DC Circuit: that the rules violated its right to block legal but unpopular content. An Open Internet has worked for America, creating a virtuous circle of innovation, trust, adoption, and further innovation. That circle should not be broken.

[Terrell McSweeny is a commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission. Jon Sallet is the former general counsel of the Federal Communications Commission. Both are alumni of the antitrust division of the Department of Justice]

This reply to "The Curious Absence of Economic Analysis at the Federal Communications Commission" (Faulhaber, Singer, & Urschel, 2017) makes three claims.

First, we document the paper's undisclosed origins as a white paper commissioned by an advocacy group with deep ties to the telecommunications industry. Second, we describe two of the authors' active participation, on behalf of clients, in a range of contested issues before the FCC in recent years, none of which they disclose. Finally, our review of FCC workshops, roundtables, seminars, dockets and rulings—including during its landmark 2015 Open Internet Order and several blockbuster mergers and acquisitions—provides detailed evidence to refute the paper's core "curious absence" charge. The stakes could not be higher, we conclude, as the new FCC chair Ajit Pai has repeatedly referenced the paper to justify his rollback of FCC regulations—including, crucially, the common carriage/net neutrality rules so vigorously opposed by the paper's funders.

In the fierce fight over Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai's effort to roll back the network neutrality rules, it won't be Chairman Pai or his opposition who has the final say. The battle is almost certainly headed to a familiar place — federal court — where judges will determine its fate. Throughout the decade-old debate over whether and how to regulate internet access, the issue has sparked repeated lawsuits that sent FCC officials back to the drawing board. Players on both sides say it’s all but certain this latest go-around will end in litigation again. "When I was general counsel, I didn’t think that what the FCC said was the last word on the matter. I knew there would be a day in court," Jon Sallet, who served as the agency's top lawyer in the Obama era, said during a net neutrality town hall

[Commentary] Network neutrality matters to any Texan who relies on the internet to access journalism, stream videos and stay in touch with friends and family. It’s also particularly critical to Texan startups and entrepreneurs, who rely on the internet to reach new customers without meddling from big, established players.

At Mozilla, we’ve been collecting signatures, comments and voicemails from Americans to share with the FCC. The results have been overwhelming: We’ve already received more than 100,000 signatures, 21,000 comments and 50 hours of voicemails. So, what can Texans do? Speak up during the 90-day public comment period, which runs through mid-August. A broad network of individuals and organizations are preparing an official brief to submit to the Federal Communications Commission that will express our concerns with their policy during this open comment period. We’re also engaging with civic leaders and policymakers here in Texas to discuss the importance of net neutrality. We need to make the coming weeks count — for Texas, all Americans and the internet.

[Surman is executive director of Mozilla. Yokubaitis is co-founder and co-CEO of Data Foundry in Austin.]

[Commentary] Democracy and a stable economy demand access to information. Every citizen and business who values the freedom to search the Internet without restrictions and receive all content consistently should lend their voice to preserving network neutrality rules by submitting comments with strong arguments and clear facts and talking to your peers and representatives about the potential impacts of this plan. The comment period closes July 17, 2017.

[Stewart is a security fellow with Truman National Security Project]

President Donald Trump has nominated the Federal Communications Commission's general counsel Brendan Carr to be the agency’s third Republican commissioner — a move that could ensure the end of net neutrality regulations. Carr’s ties to big telecom could help tip the upcoming net neutrality vote in favor of deregulation, since FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s proposal to roll back net neutrality rules will likely pass along party lines — as it did for Democrats in 2015.

The FBI will not investigate a cyberattack that crashed the Federal Communications Commission’s website during an influx of comments on an agency plan to reverse network neutrality.

Agency chief Ajit Pai said the FBI declined to investigate the FCC cyberattack that followed a “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” segment in May, when Oliver called on viewers to submit comments opposing Pai’s plan to scale back net neutrality rules. “In speaking with the FBI, the conclusion was reached that, given the facts currently known, the attack did not appear to rise to the level of a major incident that would trigger further FBI involvement,” Pai wrote to a pair of Senate Democrats, who were skeptical of the attack. “The FCC and FBI agreed to have further discussions if additional events or the discovery of additional evidence warrant consultation.”