Regulatory classification

The Trump administration's approach to a fair and open internet seeks a compromise between too much regulation and too little, said Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai. "Some people said that we should maintain the rules we had, the heavy-handed regulations that were based in the 1930s," he said. "Others said we should wipe the slate clean, have no regulations whatsoever. We charted a middle course."  Chairman Pai said that he's looking to counter the "misinformation" that's produced this is the "'end of the internet as we know it'" type headlines.

Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure said that he doesn’t see anything wrong with charging customers more money in order for them to obtain faster service. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong for you to eventually charge a higher price for a faster access to your network,” Claure said.  “You have this anyway. In the United States in many roads you drive, you have a faster road and you pay more. There’s nothing wrong with that.

On the Net Neutrality National Day of Action, Senate and House Democrats introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to overturn the Federal Communications Commission’s partisan decision on network neutrality. Sens Ed Markey (D-MA), House Communications Subcommittee Ranking Member Mike Doyle (D-PA), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced introduction of House and Senate resolutions to fully restore the 2015 Open Internet Order. The Senate CRA resolution of disapproval stands at 50 supporters.

So, today is another “Day of Action” for network neutrality advocates across the United States. We are supporting today’s Day of Action just as we did last summer’s Day of Action. But also like last summer, we support real action – actual legislation from Congress that places the pillars of net neutrality into law and applies those pillars across the internet for the benefit of all consumers. We received criticism from a certain corner of this debate in 2017 for our support of the Day of Action and I expect we will hear from those same folks again today.

[Commentary] Senate Democrats are proposing to undo the FCC’s wrongheaded rule through a process set up by the Congressional Review Act. [O]ne more vote [is needed] to ensure the internet remains free and accessible to all. That vote must come from the ranks of the Republicans, who so far have sided with internet service providers, the only group that is clamoring to remove the important consumer protections enshrined in net neutrality.

After the Federal Communications Commission and the US Congress scrapped federal regulations protecting both network neutrality and privacy for Internet service provider customers, several states started working on their own safeguards. With broad support from the governor, attorney general, and legislators of both parties, Washington State has been one of the most aggressive. That could make it a test case not only for telecom policy but for the country’s perennial power struggle between federal and state governments.

A federal appeals court ruled the Federal Trade Commission can move forward with its lawsuit alleging AT&T misled wireless subscribers by reducing data speeds for several million customers who thought they had purchased unlimited plans. The ruling by the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals is a notable win for the FTC because it restores the agency’s regulatory authority over large internet service providers.

The decision to end network neutrality has to withstand a court challenge, and Democrats in Congress will do their utmost to overturn it. Regardless of the outcome, the fight marks Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai as a brawler in bureaucrat’s guise. Says Kevin Werbach, a former FCC staffer who teaches at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School: “He’s going through, pretty systematically, to reverse rules put in place during the Obama administration.” 

At a panel session at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai talked up the "entrepreneurial spirit of markets" over the "all-knowing vortex of government." Chairman Pai said it was that spirit that would get broadband to rural areas and entrepreneurs from the drawing table to the board, as well as promote advancements in healthcare and education.  He said his FCC recognizes the power of citizens rather than that of a few unelected bureaucrats.