Net neutrality vote gets quick reaction
Advocates of open Internet slam FCC’s repeal of rules
The Federal Communications Commission voted Thursday to repeal Obama-era net neutrality regulations that guaranteed equal access to the Internet, a controversial reversal that drew swift rebuke by companies and politicians in the Bay Area, where many advocates for the rules said they counted on them to protect Internet users and foster the growth of startups.
The FCC’s 3-2 decision, with the panel’s Republican members outvoting its Democrats, was hailed by big Internet service providers like Verizon, AT&T and Comcast.
But state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, immediately vowed to introduce a bill in the Legislature next year that would require net neutrality for any Internet service provider to operate in California. In an interview, Wiener said California is already battling
the Trump administration on issues like climate change, and he wants to add net neutrality to that list.
“I’ve been closely following the train wreck at the FCC,” Wiener said. “We need to stay focused on pushing back wherever we can, and protecting a free and open and democratic Internet is definitely worth the fight.”
The vote overturned 2015 regulations designed to prevent Internet service providers from favoring some sites and apps over others. Net neutrality proponents said the rules were needed to ensure that smaller sites had the same access as larger, wealthier entities, but critics said the regulations were unnecessary.
David Cohen, Comcast senior executive vice president, said in a statement that the repeal eliminates “burdensome” regulations and opens the door “for increased investment and digital innovation. Today’s action does not mark the ‘end of the Internet as we know it;’ rather it heralds in a new era of light regulation that will benefit consumers.”
Verizon said it “fully supports the open Internet, and we will continue to do so. Our customers demand it and our business depends on it.”
In a blog post, AT&T Senior Executive Vice President Bob Quinn said: “The Internet will continue to work tomorrow just as it always has.” He also said the company won’t block, censor or slow traffic to websites “based on content, nor unfairly discriminate in our treatment of Internet traffic.”
But Netflix, one of the world’s most popular Internet services and a proponent of net neutrality, ripped the FCC’s decision as misguided.
“We’re disappointed in the FCC’s decision to gut the net neutrality protections that ushered in an unprecedented era of innovation, creativity and civic engagement,” the Los Gatos company said. “Today’s decision is the beginning of a longer legal battle. Netflix will stand with innovators, large and small, to oppose this misguided FCC order.”
Emmett Shear, CEO of the popular San Francisco video game streaming company Twitch, now owned by Amazon.com, said startups like his prospered because of net neutrality.
“Without it, we might not be here today, and our streamers might not be here tomorrow,” Shear said in a blog post written in anticipation of the FCC’s reversal.
“Because our streamer community — many of which are small business owners — depend on their viewers having easy access to their channels and reliable quality of service, repealing net neutrality will erode the power of the Internet to enable and create these types of jobs,” Shear said. “This is why we are lending our voice to championing a free and open Internet.”
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky tweeted that the repeal was “wrong and disappointing. A free and open internet is critical to innovation, an open society, and widespread access to economic empowerment.”
Airbnb is an example of a startup that benefited from an open Internet, said Tara Sharp, chief marketing officer of Sonic, a small Internet service provider based in Santa Rosa whose founder, Dane Jasper, has long been a vocal proponent of net neutrality.
“At one time, they were a small business and they wouldn’t have been able to afford to pay AT&T and Comcast for Internet fast lanes,” Sharp said in an interview. “Their business wouldn’t have taken off. Their customers would have gotten frustrated because their orders would have timed out.”
Sonic has recently seen an increase in customers who wanted to switch from a larger provider because of the FCC’s impending vote, she said. “But in San Francisco, we’re lucky because we have a lot of options,” Sharp said. “The further we get out of the Bay Area, the fewer your options are.”
Jaime Fink, co-founder of Mimosa Networks, a Santa Clara wireless Internet company, said lack of competition causes “the biggest harm to the Internet today.”
Although the FCC’s vote “will be scrutinized, it is crucial that the tech industry quickly unites and adopts new tactics to overcome America’s broadband problems and elevate the digital economy,” Fink said in a statement. “Without any competition and no guarantee of net neutrality, there is little pressure on the megaISPs to compete on price, improve their networks and ensure fair treatment to all types of traffic. This must change.”
San Francisco’s Electronic Frontier Foundation said in a tweet that the “FCC's decision to abandon its traditional role in protecting an open and free Internet will go down as one of the biggest mistakes in Internet policy history. We will fight in the courts, in the states, and in Congress to restore #NetNeutrality.”
Wiener said he is exploring options with the foundation and the ACLU to draft a bill in time for the Legislature’s next session that would use California’s regulatory powers to force Internet providers to adhere to net neutrality practices. That might include adding net neutrality as a requirement in cable franchise agreements, state contracts or as a condition of using public rightof-way.
“There could be multiple approaches,” he said. “We’ll spend the next 60 days figuring out what works best.”
Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Hillsborough, said the FCC’s vote was “short-sighted” and “will severely undermine the ability of small businesses to compete in the digital sphere.”
“If you hate cable, you’re going to really hate the FCC’s repeal of our net neutrality rules,” Speier said in a statement. “Net neutrality is the backbone of a free and open Internet.”
Twilio, a cloud communications service company, also called on Congress to take action to force the FCC to protect consumers Internet access.
“Today’s vote to roll back net neutrality protections is a clear indication the FCC is moving away from its role to protect consumers,” said Twilio general counsel Karyn Smith in a statement.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra also decried the decision. “Today, the FCC failed to do what is right,” he said in a statement. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said his office plans to sue to block the repeal, citing problems with the commission’s process for soliciting comments from the public. Becerra and Schneiderman, along with 16 other state attorneys general, sent FCC Chairman Ajit Pai a letter Wednesday outlining their concerns.
Barbara van Schewick, a Stanford law professor, said she expects the FCC’s order to be overturned in the courts.
“Today’s vote is a stain on the FCC,” van Schewick said in a statement. “For decades, the FCC prided itself on being careful, deliberate and transparent in its mission to keep the Internet open for free speech, commerce and innovation, while maintaining incentives for broadband providers to invest. This FCC has failed to live up to that standard.” San Francisco Chronicle staff writers Wendy Lee and Carolyn Said
contributed to this report.