Congress Must Take Action to Stop the FCC and President Obama on Net Neutrality

Congress has a full plate of issues that they will need to deal with right from the start. But with all the issues that appear to be dominating the new session of Congress, one issue that cannot be ignored is net neutrality, a direct assault on the future of the Internet.

Last year, President Obama and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) were rebuked by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in the Verizon vs FCC case. But, just one year later it appears that net neutrality advocates in the Obama Administration appear ready to move forward quickly (as early as February) with plans to reclassify the internet as a utility under Title II.  Any reclassification would be disastrous for consumers, taxpayers, and the future of the Internet. Reclassification of the Internet could pave the way for new taxes, harm upcoming spectrum auctions, and totally upend the economy by stifling innovation and commerce.

The Internet is not broken and does not need to be fixed. A 2013 report by Charles Davidson and Michael Santorelli at the New York University Law School noted that, “Broadband providers have invested more than $1 trillion in broadband between 1996 and 2010, and $66 billion in 2011.” Reclassification under Title II would undermine that progress.

Now that Republicans control both chambers of Congress, it is time for Congress to act and prevent the FCC and President Obama from taking this regulatory approach to the internet and stop net neutrality dead in its tracks. Indications are pointing to a potential preemptive move by the GOP-controlled House and Senate legislating on the issue before the FCC has a chance to conduct their own vote. Congress needs to ensure that the White House and the FCC keep their hands off the internet and away from the grips of a regulatory power grab.

In an op-ed in The Washington Post, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) succinctly criticized attempts to regulate the Internet and made the case against net neutrality when he noted that, ”We must promote growth in the technological sector, a consistent bright spot for the U.S. economy. But we won’t realize more of that dynamic growth unless we keep the Internet free from the kind of unnecessary regulation that is strangling our health-care, energy and banking industries.”

Sen. Cruz is correct, but the implications for the internet, taxpayers, consumers, businesses, and the economy are not limited to just net neutrality.  This action by the FCC would fundamentally change the balance of regulatory power away from elected officials to unelected bureaucrats.  This shift of power could have reverberations through all agencies.

The time for waiting is over because the FCC and the President are poised to move forward with net neutrality.  Congress needs to take this matter seriously and stop the FCC from implementing new net neutrality rules.