AEI's Lyons Targets Net Neutrality 'Misconceptions'; Congress Urged to Act

post that repealing the reclassification of broadband under Communications Act Title II "is not the same as eliminating the open internet." He noted FCC Chairman Ajit Pai opposed Title II use but supported a "free and open internet." Lyons said the debate should focus on protecting "consumers, not edge providers" and on promoting "competition throughout the internet ecosystem," rather than "singling out ISPs." The law is outdated, he said, urging a "holistic approach" to clarify FCC broadband authority and "give the agency clear marching orders, rather than forcing it to fit the square peg of the internet into the round statutory holes of law written to govern the telephone network." CCMI telecom consultant Andrew Regitsky also urged legislation, arguing Pai faces a difficult battle to change the order, which will leave the FCC "scarred" even if he wins. "As soon as the next Democratic president is elected, he or she can simply appoint FCC commissioners that could reverse all of Pai’s actions," wrote Regitsky in a blog post. "Congress must write new net neutrality rules and soon. And the remarkable thing is that both political parties are not that far apart. A compromise is eminently doable."