GOP’s Internet Freedom Act permanently guts net neutrality authority – Ars Technica

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Nine Republican US senators yesterday submitted legislation that would prohibitthe Federal Communications Commission from ever againusing the regulatory authority that allowed the commission to imposenet neutrality rules.The "Restoring Internet Freedom Act" would prohibit the FCC from classifying ISPs as common carriers under Title II of the Communications Act and "from imposing certain regulations on providers of such service."

The Internet "is threatened by the Federal Communications Commissions 2015 Open Internet Order, which would put federal bureaucrats in charge of engineering the Internets infrastructure," Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah). said in an announcement yesterday. "That is why I am introducing the Restoring Internet Freedom Act, which would nullify [the] Open Internet Order and prohibit the FCC from issuing a similar rule in the future.

Lee's bill was co-sponsored bySens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), and James Inhofe (R-Ok.). In the announcement, Cruz repeated his charge that net neutrality is "Obamacare for the Internet."

The full bill text isn't available yet, but itappears to be identical to another one proposedlast year. That bill would have prohibited the FCC from issuinga new net neutrality rule"unless the rule is specifically authorized by a law enacted after enactment of this Act." There was also an "Internet Freedom Act" to wipe out net neutrality rules in 2015.

The FCC attempted to impose net neutrality rules without using its Title II authority in 2010, but Verizon sued and the rules were struck down in court. The FCC finally was able to impose net neutrality rules that were upheld in courtafter reclassifying ISPs as common carriers. Among other things, the rules prohibit ISPs from blocking, throttling, or prioritizing Internet websites and applications in exchange for payment. The latest court decision upholding the current net neutrality rules was alsoissued yesterday.

Meanwhile, the FCC's new Republican chairman, Ajit Pai, has proposed overturning the Title II classification and net neutrality rules in his own "Restoring Internet Freedom" plan.Some Republicans in Congress support net neutrality legislationthat wouldban blocking, throttling, and paid prioritization of Internet traffic without using Title II. But from what we know about Lee's bill so far, it appears the proposal wouldn't impose any typeof net neutrality rules to replace the current ones.

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GOP's Internet Freedom Act permanently guts net neutrality authority - Ars Technica