Yesterday, Senate Democrats held a press conference in what LGBT Tech hopes is the first step towards a positive resolution to the net neutrality issue, namely Congressional legislation that protects neutrality while providing long-term legal consistency. LGBT Tech has maintained the position that the only way to ensure long-term legal consistency and prevent rule changes based on which way the pendulum is currently swinging at the FCC is for Congress to reach across the aisle and pass common sense legislation that works for today’s dynamic digital networks. The need for these rules should be very clear for legislators across both sides of the aisle given the head-spinning flurry of activity that has taken place recently at the FCC. It wasn’t very long ago that Democrats were applauding the actions of then Chairman Wheeler on this issue while now fretting about what Chairman Pai’s stance on net neutrality may mean for net neutrality. Clearly the only way to ensure that net neutrality is resolved in a bi-partisan manner once and for all is the codification of rules that reflect the compromise of members across both sides of the aisle.
Several Senators reacted to the press conference including Sen. Nelson. “The fact remains the fight over net neutrality protections has been going on for more than a decade and there’s still no end in sight. Because it’s expected the new Republican FCC will undo the agency’s net neutrality rules, I believe only Congress can provide lasting safeguards. I am still open to finding a bipartisan legislative solution, although it’s not going to happen overnight. At the end of the day, any legislation must fully protect consumers and still allow the FCC to respond to changes in the broadband marketplace.”
The fact remains, Congressional legislation has always been the best solution to provide the FCC with a roadmap to ensure an open and free internet. Strapping an 80 year old law to our current digital network is just putting a band-aid on the larger problem.
We hope Congress will work together to finally take the steps to codify these changes into law.
Press Statement From LGBT Tech on Tuesday, February 7, 2017.
LGBT Tech Urges Congress To Work Together When It Comes To Our Internet
Today’s Senate press conference and recent comments from Sen. John Thune are hopefully the first steps toward a positive resolution to the net neutrality issue, namely Congressional legislation that protects neutrality, provides long-term legal consistency and eliminates problems caused by the FCC’s Title II regulation.
FCC policy towards the internet has changed multiple times over the past decade. Everyone should recognize that this kind of regulatory flux is a terrible way to spur the broadband deployment. Moreover, even proponents of the FCC’s Title II action acknowledge the problem of using an 80-year-old law to regulate today’s dynamic digital networks. The Commission’s recent difficulties in discerning a coherent policy toward mobile ‘free data’ programs also shows the limits of regulating with a 1934 law.
We urge members of Congress from both parties to put an end to back-and-forth regulation. We support codifying the commonsense net neutrality principles that the FCC set forth in its 2005 policy statement and which balance user protection with the need to spur faster deployment of broadband access.
Press:
The Hill: https://origin-nyi.thehill.com/policy/technology/318311-dems-come-out-swinging-on-net-neutrality