Free Press: Trump's FCC Chief Has Failed to Justify His Campaign Against Net Neutrality
WASHINGTON — On Monday, Free Press submitted comments to the Federal Communications Commission, demonstrating once again that the 2015 decision to base Net Neutrality rules on Title II got it exactly right. The 2015 Open Internet Order ushered in an era of broadband investment and internet innovation while giving users assurances that their service providers will not block, throttle or discriminate against their online communications.
In its 294-page filing, Free Press states that FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is making a mistake of “epic proportions” in his bid to undermine the landmark 2015 ruling. Under Pai, the agency voted in May to begin a rulemaking process to jettison Title II protections and once again place broadband-access providers under Title I of the Communications Act — ending Net Neutrality as we know it while also jeopardizing broadband-privacy rights and FCC broadband-affordability programs.
Free Press’ filing is available here: https://www.freepress.net/sites/default/files/resources/free_press_title_II_comments.pdf
Free Press argues that Chairman Pai, who is determined to take away Net Neutrality protections, is prejudiced by his extreme political ideology; and that the process is rife with procedural, legal and factual flaws. Free Press also argues that broadband internet-access service clearly fits the definition of a telecom service crafted by Congress; that the agency has failed to establish how it would protect open-internet access after abandoning Title II; and that Pai has failed to produce any reliable evidence or even plausible theories regarding Title II’s alleged threat to online investment and innovation. All of these factors lay the foundation for a future legal challenge if Pai continues his push to undermine open-internet safeguards.
Despite the chairman’s gloomy predictions, Free Press’ filing also shows that the speed of broadband services offered by carriers large and small has increased dramatically in the two years under restored common carriage, with additional improvements continuing at a historic pace. This is the metric — improved broadband capacity and capabilities — on which the deployment debate should focus, rather than on the sheer dollar amount spent either by the industry as a whole, or by individual ISPs increasing their spending over the past few years.
Free Press Policy Director Matt Wood made the following statement:
“Dismantling 2015’s open internet rules would be catastrophic. It would remove the legal and economic certainty of Title II protections and harm internet users, who would no longer be able to share and access information of their choosing. It would also defy the will of the people, who say — in nationwide poll after nationwide poll of Republicans and Democrats alike — that they want and need Net Neutrality protections and internet access free from unreasonable interference.
“Chairman Pai’s allegiance to the broadband industry is so great that he has continued to ignore the overwhelming evidence and political forces arrayed against him. The Net Neutrality rules and their Title II framework are working beautifully. Proof of that is everywhere, from the ISPs’ increases in investment and profits to the astounding levels of innovation from companies that use the internet to reach their customers.
“Phone and cable ISP profits are not the only thing at stake here, though they seem foremost in Pai’s mind. But the fact is that along with their finances, these broadband providers’ service speeds are also on the rise. Companies like AT&T, which industry lobbyists falsely paint as a victim of Title II’s fictional harms, have taken advantage of technological upgrades to deploy faster speeds while spending less than they used to. But don’t take our word for it: AT&T’s own CEO has bragged repeatedly about how it continues to get cheaper-to-deploy fiber and build out the company’s wireless networks.
“That’s proof enough that Title II is working for industry. Broadband-internet access is a lucrative business and an essential service, where prices are still too high and choices too few; but the providers are making money hand over fist. Chairman Pai professes a desire to close the digital divide, but his actions speak louder than his words. Taking away Title II would mean an abandonment of the nondiscrimination rules that allow people of color and other overlooked communities to tell their stories online and organize for change. It would also mean an abandonment of people’s right to privacy against cable-company plans to sell their information, and would potentially threaten FCC initiatives to make broadband access more affordable to those in need.
“The one fact that Pai seems most determined to ignore is on full display in the docket: Several million people spoke out by Monday’s initial comment deadline, breaking every previous record for public participation at the agency. That participation has been amazing, and the vast majority of these comments urge the agency not to dismantle the rules put in place in 2015. People know these basic protections are vital not only for commercial enterprises and entrepreneurship but for educational opportunities and civic engagement.
“Chairman Pai could look at the mountains of data available to him and admit the error of his gloom-and-doom predictions. He could recognize that the nondiscrimination principles enshrined in Title II, far from being old-fashioned, are crucial to economic opportunity, political participation, free speech, racial justice, and social movements of all stripes.
“Because Chairman Pai was determined to destroy these rules at the outset, he has wasted taxpayers’ time and money with this frivolous re-do. He’s chosen to plow ahead and try to destroy the communication rights Congress commanded the Commission to uphold.”
Initial legal comments in this proceeding were due on Monday, with a reply-comment period currently scheduled to end on Aug. 16. Since the docket opened in May, more than 7 million people have filed comments, the overwhelming majority of which support preserving the existing Net Neutrality safeguards under Title II.
