Ahead of congressional hearings, more than 130 organizations and 125,000 individuals thank FCC for protecting the open Internet
WASHINGTON – As Chairman Tom Wheeler appears at the first of several Congressional hearings, more than 130 civil rights and Internet advocacy groups, large companies, venture capitalists, and startups thanked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for its actions to protect Net Neutrality. The signers included: ACLU, BuzzFeed, ColorOfChange.org, CREDO Action, Daily Kos, Demand Progress, EFF, Etsy, Foundry Group, Free Press, Kickstarter, MoveOn.org, Mozilla, Popular Resistance, reddit, Tumblr, Union Square Ventures, Vimeo, Warby Parker, and Yelp.
CREDO Action, Daily Kos, Free Press and MoveOn.org also delivered more than 125,000 “thank you” signatures from Internet users.
In the letter, the groups applauded the three FCC Commissioners for listening to and acting on the calls of millions of Americans who supported Net Neutrality. The letter is a strong show of support from those that value the open Internet for the Commissioners’ vote on Title II reclassification.
“The FCC followed the letter of the law by voting for reclassification, and it heeded the calls of millions of Americans. You proved that sound policy that benefits the public interest can carry the day in Washington. Your vote will help keep the Internet open for years to come, free from slow lanes and gatekeeping, which will enable future generations to enjoy the greatest platform for free expression, democracy, and innovation the world has ever known. If Congress acts, it should consider the FCC’s rule the floor, and not the ceiling, when it comes to the protections afforded Americans.”
The groups also noted the bipartisan support for Net Neutrality and the FCC’s vote:
“Those that support Net Neutrality and Title II represent a wide range of interests and political affiliations. What we have in common is an unwavering belief in the power of the Internet and the need to keep it open for the benefit of the public. This is not a partisan idea.”
The full text of the letter can be found here.
FROM POLITICO.COM – Morning Tech by Adam Sneed
WHEELER IN THE HOT SEAT — The House Oversight Committee has FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler in the crosshairs today, and Republicans on the panel won’t let him go without a fight. He’s prepared to give a full-throated defense of the open Internet order that passed the commission last month, and deny that he was directed by President Barack Obama. “There were no secret instructions from the White House,” he’ll say, according to prepared testimony obtained by POLITICO. “I did not, as CEO of an independent agency, feel obligated to follow the president’s recommendation.”
Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz has promised to grill Wheeler, and he’s focusing on transparency in the process. “It appears the FCC is concealing certain communications from the public with no legal basis,” he plans to say. He cites 1,600 pages of unredacted emails provided to the committee that were “highly redacted” when provided to others via FOIA requests. “Today we will compare these communications to understand what legal justification Mr. Wheeler’s agency used to prevent this information from becoming public.” Ranking member Elijah Cummings will say the process “followed the appropriate guidelines” and shows no evidence of undue influence from the president. Read more from Kate and Tony:http://politico.pro/1HW7B7o
— INTERCONNECTION DISCONNECT? Wheeler will seek to differentiate his net neutrality rules to some extent from Obama’s approach, telling the committee that his plan’s “recognition of interconnection as an important issue” is “a topic not covered by the administration’s position,” according to a copy of his statement. But Obama did bring up interconnection last November when he asked the FCC “if necessary to apply net neutrality rules to points of interconnection between the ISP and the rest of the Internet.” Asked about the issue, an FCC official said the chairman “believes that the president’s statement treats interconnection as a subset of the transparency rules rather than a separate matter.” The official added: “For the first time, the commission has asserted Title II authority over points of interconnection and deals with interconnection as matter of conduct. In addition, the order creates a process to address problems that may arise with interconnection agreements.”
— COLLINS PLANS ANTI-NET NEUTRALITY RESOLUTION: Rep. Doug Collins says he’s coming out with a resolution to invalidate the FCC’s net neutrality order under the Congressional Review Act, Alex reports. The resolution of disapproval would invalidate the order, but it can’t be introduced until the rules are formally submitted to Congress. That’s expected to happen sometime in the next few weeks. In the meantime, Collins is asking colleagues to support his effort, which overlaps efforts by leaders on the House and Senate Commerce committees to draft legislation that would supersede the FCC’s rules with less aggressive Internet protections. Collins would need support in two-thirds of both chambers to overcome a certain veto from President Obama.
— MEANWHILE, SENATE KEEPS AN EYE ON FCC: Recall that Sen. Ron Johnson, who leads his chamber’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, also asked Wheeler for the deets of his contact with the White House. The FCC has provided some of those records, according to ex parte filings, but Johnson isn’t totally satisfied. “The FCC turned over some documents, but they were emails that previously had been made public in response to a FOIA request?,” said Patrick McIlheran, the senator’s spokesman, in an email to Tony. “We are less than satisfied with the FCC’s response so far, but we are giving the agency the benefit of the doubt for now.?” Johnson’s office added that the GOP pol plans to continue to push the FCC on its request: “We haven’t ruled anything out.”