Carr Hails FCC 'Internet Freedom' Draft Decision, Disputes It Would Kill Net Neutrality
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr disputed criticism that net neutrality would be scrapped under an "internet freedom" draft ruling and orders targeted for a December vote. "The claim that we're getting rid of net neutrality is not true," he said in an interview Friday. He said 2015 Title II broadband regulation under the Communications Act, which the draft would undo, isn't needed to uphold net neutrality. "We have numerous robust consumer protections in this order," he said, referring to draft decisions to empower FTC oversight and other safeguards.
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Carr said he fully backs the draft that Chairman Ajit Pai circulated for the Dec. 14 commissioners' meeting (see 1711210020 and 1711220026). "I think it's a great document. ... I'm going to vote for [it]," he said. He acknowledged it would be difficult to bridge divisions, though he said he would listen to the arguments and proposals of stakeholders and colleagues.
Carr said there are limits on FCC action once it concludes broadband is a Title I information service, not a Title II telecom service subject to common carrier regulation. He said he agrees with the draft's conclusion that Telecom Act Section 706 isn't an independent grant of regulatory authority.
"There's unfortunately a lot of false information out there about what the FCC is doing," Carr said. If everything being said about the draft were true, "I would be fired up too," he said. "But it's not true." He said Title II broadband regulation is seen by its defenders as a "thin line" that prevents internet "balkanization," "fast lanes and slow lanes," and blocking of websites. That notion is the "biggest head fake," he said. "Net neutrality is something we had long before the Title II decision." Market competition gives broadband ISPs much financial incentive not to engage in blocking or throttling of internet traffic, he said.
But Carr said the Pai draft order includes "additional protections" and doesn't just rely on competition to discipline providers. He said the FCC, by revoking Title II classification, would move to restore federal consumer protection law over broadband through FTC oversight, which contains a common carrier exception. (The draft's transparency rule also would help the FTC combat unfair or deceptive practices, senior FCC staffers said Tuesday.) FTC authority to address broadband privacy and data breaches also would be restored, Carr said, noting the FTC has brought more than 500 privacy cases, including against ISPs before Title II.
The draft also would count on FTC and DOJ antitrust protection under the Sherman Act, Carr said, and on state consumer protection laws and attorney general enforcement to address anti-competitive and anti-consumer conduct. The idea the FCC is "going to a Wild West world, that's not the reality," he said: the draft "assures consumers have strong legal protections."
Critics say the FTC has no net neutrality experience, numerous consumer harms could occur without rules, and FTC and DOJ enforcement would come after the fact. They also say the draft would gut much state and local broadband consumer protection. The draft "shows both an appalling disregard for the record and an astounding disregard for even the basics of administrative law," said Public Knowledge Senior Vice President Harold Feld in a release Wednesday. "It would seem more likely, as some have suggested, that Chairman Pai and Congressional Republicans have released this Order to create a crisis atmosphere and push through legislation authored by the cable companies rather than in a serious attempt at policy."
"If we can get past the heated, false rhetoric out there, I think that would go a long way toward facilitating productive discussions," Carr said. "There's plenty of room for reasoned debate." At the same time, he recognized, commissioners and other parties expressed strong views, and "bridging that gap is going to be very difficult." When asked, he couldn't think of any concerns he had with the draft. "I think it's a great decision. I'm excited about it," he said, noting he would keep meeting with stakeholders and listening to others' views, including any proposals his colleagues have for tweaks. But he added, "I'm going to be voting for this plan."
Democratic Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Jessica Rosenworcel didn't comment to us Friday. A Clyburn aide pointed us to a fact sheet she issued Wednesday criticizing the draft, and to an event she plans to attend Monday, the release for which quoted her as saying: "In today’s modern world having robust broadband is crucial. It can connect families to better healthcare and jobs. It is the key to better educational opportunities for students, and it can provide direct access to a global market to our small businesses no matter where they are located.” Rosenworcel tweeted Wednesday on the draft: "Don't boo. Read it. Then roar. It's time to make a ruckus. It's time to #SaveNetNeutrality."