FCC Chairman Offers Sketchy Defense of Non-Net Neutrality Policy

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler
(Image: The New Yorker Magazine)

When we last left FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, he was producing new Internet policy that provided for pay-to-play "fast lanes" that upended net neutrality guidelines. Recently, the former cable TV lobbyist has been defending his position. One broadside included Wheeler's claim that he would regulate the Internet along the lines of a utility such as an old-fashioned telephone company if distributors (such as Comcast) misbehaved. Of course, he would the principal arbiter determining when that legal structure should be proposed, never mind implemented.

Wheeler's weaving and dodging is neatly summarized by Sean Hollister in theverge.com. The writer views the FCC chairman's assertions skeptically, as well he should. Wheeler's proposal would quickly become entrenched policy. Overturning Wheeler's new regulations, in the face of fierce opposition lobbying from deep pocketed media and high tech firms who benefit from the "fast lane" scenario, seems a very unlikely path to change.

FCC Backs "Pay to Play" Internet Access

FCC chairman Tom Wheeler
(Image: newyorker.com)

Later this week, the FCC will propose new Internet access regulations which will effectively cost consumers a lot of money. As siliconvalley.com's Levi Sumagaysay noted, the new "pay-to-play" Internet will open high-speed access to the top bids and more or less compel the likes of Netflix to pay for preferential treatment. The new FCC chairman, Tom Wheeler, certainly understands the issues underlying the proposals. After all, he was a former cable TV lobbyist. As it happens, firms such as Comcast and Verizon stand to make a bonanza from the new regulations' impact.

In fairness, the FCC was pushed into a corner via recent judicial decisions that effectively punctured Net neutrality as a legal concept. What's striking is the unwillingness of Congress, or any power structure, to maintain an Internet that retains a sense of individual freedom and a sense of unpredictability. Well, it was nice while it lasted, eh?