Several dozen Republican senators are coming together in opposition to the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) new push for internet regulation.
Last month, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel revived the debate on “net neutrality” regulations that govern the rules of broadband internet access, after Democrats gained a majority on the commission.
The Trump administration had previously overturned Obama-era rules that prohibited internet service providers from controlling digital traffic. This move was supported by 44 Republican senators who sent a letter to Chairwoman Rosenworcel defending the decision.
The Republican senators consider the potential reinstatement of net neutrality rules as an overreach of aggressive regulation by the federal government.
They argue that “reimposing heavy-handed, public-utility regulations on the internet would threaten the progress our country has made since 2017, and it would steer our country out of the fast lane and into a world of less competition, less choice, less investment, slower speeds, and higher prices.” Furthermore, they claim that the FCC lacks the statutory authority to regulate broadband internet access.
In contrast, Democrats view a world without net neutrality regulations as precarious. Chairwoman Rosenworcel highlighted the challenges posed by the absence of these rules, including national security, cybersecurity, network reliability, privacy, and broadband deployment, among other issues.
She dismissed those who consider the removal of the rules as inconsequential and stated, “If you think that nothing much has happened since the FCC retreated from our net neutrality policies and are asking yourself, ‘What’s the big deal?’, think again. Then look harder.”
Last week, Chairwoman Rosenworcel shared her plan to restore the internet rules with her colleagues, and the FCC is set to discuss the proposal at a meeting on October 19.
The group of 44 Republican senators, led by Senators Ted Cruz of Texas and John Thune of South Dakota, argue that the FCC’s rulemaking process has become excessively partisan and politicized.
They urge the FCC to prioritize addressing “rampant waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government’s broadband subsidy programs” instead of focusing on net neutrality.
The senators emphasize that the lack of public-utility regulations for the internet is not one of the country’s real challenges.
• This article was based in part on wire service reports.
