In a vote along party lines, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved what
amounts to a government takeover of the Internet. FCC Chairman Tom
Wheeler and his fellow Democrats, Mignon Clyburn and Jessica
Rosenworcel, approved placing the Internet under Title II regulations.
They will reclassify broadband
as a telecommunications service, and regulate Internet Service
Providers (ISPs) like utility companies, or “common carriers,” rather
than “information services” that remain outside the agency’s regulatory
power. Republican commissioners Ajit Pai and Michael O’Rielly dissented,
with Pai explaining that net neutrality is “a solution that won’t work
to a problem that doesn’t exist.”
The arrogance of Wheeler and his allies has been evident for some
time. The 332-page proposal they approved was never made available to
the public or Congress prior to the vote, even as Wheeler ignored pleas
by Pai and O’Rielly to do so. “We respectfully request that FCC
leadership immediately release the 332-page Internet regulation plan
publicly and allow the American people a reasonable period of not less
than 30 days to carefully study it,” they said in a statement released Monday.
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