Net Neutrality 2014: The Regulators Strike Back [telecom]

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By Paul J. Feldman, CommLawBlog, May 21, 2014 Trying to meet conflicting demands of court, Congress and constituency, [FCC] Chairman Wheeler is on the horns of a dilemma.

The FCC's May, 2014 monthly meeting was not ordinary. Protestors camped outside the Commission's headquarters and shouted slogans in its meeting room. Democratic Commissioners showed signs of open rebellion against their Chairman. Republican Commissioners stood in blunt opposition to the Chairman. And everyone, including the Chairman, urged fervently that "the future of the Internet" was at stake.

Against this backdrop, Chairman Wheeler announced the FCC's latest proposal for Open Internet rules. Caught between the demands of his political constituency and legal requirements set by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, he attempted to walk a narrow and difficult path.

And by a 3-2 vote (with two of the three Commissioners in the majority expressing serious reservations), the FCC followed the Chairman on that path: it adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) soliciting comments on the latest approach to "net neutrality" regulation.

Continued:

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Neal McLain