FCC urged to save net neutrality rules

LOS ANGELES, April 13, (RTRS): The trade association representing major Internet companies like Google, Facebook and Amazon said that they continue to have “vigorous support” for the existing net neutrality rules, after meeting with FCC Chairman Ajit Pai earlier this week.

Michael Beckerman, the president and CEO of the Internet Association, and Abigail Slater, its general counsel, met with Pai on Tuesday.

Pai reportedly is considering a plan that would scale back the FCC’s existing net neutrality rules, by replacing them with a set of voluntary principles that ISPs would agree to as part of their service terms. The FCC’s designation of Internet service as a common carrier would be eliminated, and enforcement would shift to the Federal Trade Commission.

Internet providers, in agreeing to the principles, would vow not to block or slow traffic, but public interest groups say that it would fall far short of the robust set of rules that the FCC adopted in 2015.

While the Internet Association said that it believes that “existing net neutrality rules should be enforced and kept intact,” they did seem to leave some leeway when it comes to regulatory maneuvering. Pai would have the votes to reverse the net neutrality order, and there has been some talk of a congressional compromise that would reverse the classification of Internet service as a common carrier.

In their filing, The Internet Association also said that “consumers want and need their internet experience preserved and protected, regardless of the legal or regulatory mechanism.

“While IA continues its work to protect consumers by maintaining existing FCC rules, its primary focus is on the end result - meaningful net neutrality rules that withstand the test of time.”