CAGW Pans Government Grab to Regulate the Internet

(Washington, D.C.) - Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today expressed outrage over Federal Communication Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski’s announcement that the agency will introduce a plan to regulate Internet service providers.  The plan, which is slated to be released today, would apply rules which currently pertain to the telephone industry to regulate Internet service providers. 

“The FCC is utterly misguided if it believes that it is serving taxpayers and consumers by attempting to impose burdensome and unwarranted regulations on a constantly-changing, rapidly-growing, profitable industry such as the Internet,” said CAGW President Tom Schatz.  “The federal government, particularly under the current administration, has time and again inserted itself into industries and business models in an effort to control much of the U.S. economy.”   

According to news reports, this new move by the FCC would theoretically create a “third way” plan that would fall between the current state of Internet deregulation and a more comprehensive regulatory approach.  The plan is expected to go through an inquiry and rule-making process, which will take several months. 

Last month, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that the FCC had no authority to require broadband providers to give equal treatment to all Internet content flowing through their networks.  This ruling was viewed as a move away from “net neutrality,” a policy that would force Internet service providers to treat all applications equally over a high-speed network. 

“Clearly, Chairman Genachowski does not get it,” said Schatz.  “Internet service providers and their customers are thriving and will continue to see robust growth without additional interference.  The court decision last month stipulated that the FCC should not have a role in dictating how Internet service providers manage traffic on networks they paid to develop.  This ‘new’ approach only confirms that the agency is apparently uninterested in the ruling, wants regulatory control over the Internet, and intends to use any means necessary to pursue its agenda,” concluded Schatz. 

Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government. 

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