The fight over open access to the Internet has turned into a public relations war and a political football in Congress.
Last month, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski announced his proposal to clarify the agency’s authority to oversee the likes of AT&T, Verizon and Comcast in their critical roles as providers of transport links to high-speed Internet access. His approach has strong support from fellow Commissioners Michael Copps and Mignon Clyburn.
Since that announcement, opponents of his proposal have recruited proxies to mount a major disinformation campaign. Separate groups of Democratic and Republican congressmen have communicated their opposition to the proposal while others in Congress have supported it. Civil liberties and civil rights groups have weighed in for or against the proposal, depending on whether they see it as promoting or slowing broadband deployment and adoption.
At issue is how best to restore FCC oversight of major telephone and cable companies when they provide access to the Internet. They serve as gatekeepers because of their unique role in providing such access, but FCC oversight of these gatekeepers has been in doubt since an April federal appellate court decision in Comcast v. FCC rejected the agency’s prior oversight approach.
Genachowski called for a “Third Way” approach, using a “light touch” version of statutes and rules that always have governed the provision of communications transport services. Citizens groups that see the Internet as a tool of free expression and high-tech companies that need an open Internet to grow and innovate generally support the proposal. Major telephone and cable companies now challenge the FCC’s ability to adopt this approach.