President Barack Obama this morning released a statement calling for his administration’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC) — allegedly an independent agency — to execute a unilateral, complete rewrite of existing law.
He wants reclassification of how the Internet is regulated — so as to then impose network neutrality. Twice before the FCC has tried to impose net neutrality — twice it was unanimously rejected as overreaching by courts.
The law — the 1996 Telecommunications Act — classifies the Internet as lightly-regulated Title I, and does not authorize the FCC to impose net neutrality.
The president wants his FCC — all by itself — to shove it under uber-heavily-regulated Title II, which applies 1934 Telecom Act land line phone law and regulations to the future-forward World Wide Web.
This is the second end-run around Congress the president has threatened in the six days since he and his Democrat Party were thoroughly rejected in the midterm elections. He also said he plans to go ahead with unilateral illegal alien amnesty.
Less Government President Seton Motley:
“I’m not getting that bipartisan, let’s-work-together vibe from the President. I’m not getting that ‘I get what happened in the election’ feeling either.
“The President and his FCC have the opportunity to work with Congress to shape 21st Century Internet policy. Instead, they are about to unilaterally time warp the Web with flashback FDR-era rules.
“Reclassification won’t promote investment and growth. It will encase in amber the Internet for about half a decade — frozen still while the private sector has to yet again sue the government to undo yet another regulatory overreach.
“The Internet is absolutely as important as the President says it is — just as it currently is. Why is he insisting on fundamentally transforming it with this huge unilateral power grab?
“The Internet is a free speech-free market Xanadu. It is anything but broken. Why is the perpetually-broken government trying to ‘fix’ it?”
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