Conservative advocacy organizations are using their resources to put muscle behind the growing anti-internet regulation movement.
Those on the other side of the issue, who advocate for “Net Neutrality,” want to use Title II of the Communications Act as a way of reclassifying broadband internet providers as “utilities.” If this reclassification takes place, regulation advocates will be able to enact stricter rules regarding how providers allocate their resources.
Conservatives at advocacy groups like American Commitment and Tech Freedom aren’t ready to let go of a truly free internet without a fight, though. They’ve launched new landing pages for the cause, StopInternetRegulation.org and Don’t Break the Net, respectively, providing a way for Americans to add their voices to the hundreds of thousands who have already responded to the FCC’s comment period on Title II regulations.
From American Commitment:
“Everyone needs to get this story right: on our side are the vast majority of the American people who love the Internet the way it is — unregulated, supported by private investment in a free economy, competitive, and highly innovative. On the other side are radical left activists, who are seeking political control over the Internet,” said Phil Kerpen, president of American Commitment. “This exceptional outpouring of support for true Internet freedom is proof positive that the American people firmly oppose any federal regulation of the Internet.”
The wonks at Tech Freedom have provided a succinct debunking of advocates’ arguments for Title II regulation:
Title II would crush broadband investment, and it won’t even ban the practices, like fast lanes, that its advocates worry about. It would hurt startups by saddling them with excessive regulation, and it would protect big broadband companies from new competitors, leaving consumers with even fewer choices. Title II would also hurt the underserved by slowing deployment in minority and rural communities. And it would vastly increase the FCC’s powers over the Internet:You can’t have “just a little Title II” any more than you can be “slightly pregnant.” The ensuing decades of litigation and political bickering would be a boon to lawyers, but not to anyone else.
Net Neutrality advocates claim that without new regulations, broadband companies will engage in anticompetitive behavior, such as “fast tracking” for payment. The problem with this argument is that we already have regulations that affect broadband companies; he FCC still has power under Section 706 of the Communications Act to enact regulations—including regulations that Net Neutrality advocates are trying to shoehorn in via Title II.
“Title II really is a polarizing distraction from what we should actually be focusing on which is a simple, clear solution on net neutrality and making completion easier across the board,” said TechFreedom President Berin Szoka in a call with bloggers last week.
The comment period on the new proposed regulations closes at midnight.
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