NEW YORK (AP) – The head of the Federal Communications Commission is taking the defense of new Internet regulations on the road.
Speaking at the Mobile World Congress wireless show in Barcelona, Spain, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said Tuesday that “there needs to be a referee” for the Internet.
The FCC’s vote last week approved “net neutrality” rules that prevent Internet providers such as Comcast and Verizon from slowing or blocking Web traffic or from creating Internet fast lanes that content providers such as Netflix must pay for.
Broadband providers and Republicans have been critical of the new rules, and the FCC’s decision is expected to trigger industry lawsuits that could take years to resolve.
Verizon has criticized the FCC for basing the new rules on a 1934 law. Wheeler said that the agency “modernized” the old communications legislation, leaving out parts that don’t apply to today’s Internet. He said that approach has worked well for wireless carriers.