Safe Internet Alliance

Guest post by: Stacie Rumenap, board member of Safe Internet Alliance

Yesterday was marked by the first congressional hearing since the release of the National Broadband Plan (NBP) by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).  In general, members of the House Energy and Commerce Communications, Technology, and the Internet Subcommittee agreed that the NBP presents a much-needed analysis of the state of broadband deployment and adoption in the United States and that the plan just about gets it right when it comes to advancing broadband use in relation to a variety of national purposes, such as public safety, health care delivery, energy independence and education.

But like any lively debate, there were also concerns.  Among those, is the growing push within the FCC to reclassify broadband as a common carrier service, meaning Internet service providers would be regulated like telephone companies.  Several ranking members, including Reps. Stearns, Barton and Blackburn, took issue with reclassification, going so far to say that reclassification is merely a stepping stone for implementing network neutrality, which in their opinion, would be a step backwards and detrimental to the telecommunications industry.

Such sentiments were echoed just yesterday by telecos Verizon and AT&T, and cable giant Comcast, who are calling on Congress to take away much of the FCC’s power, and instead, allow Congress to focus on enforcement of Internet oversight rather than strict rule-making so that the Internet can continue to flourish without being overburdened by heavy regulations.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, who today appeared before the committee along with Commissioners Copps, McDowell, Clyburn and Atwell Baker, told Congress that the FCC may consider reclassification if a federal appeals court finds that the FCC does not in fact have jurisdiction over broadband (a federal appeals court is currently examining whether the agency overstepped its authority in ordering Comcast from blocking subscribers’ access to the BitTorrent file-sharing service).

This leaves many asking just how the Internet should be overseen.  While some argue that the government has no business overseeing the Internet at all, others argue that the government can make a case as to why it should oversee it.  And the answer probably lies somewhere in the middle with government having some authority, but not total authority.

At the end of the day, Internet safety and security needs to be be the number one priority.  Everyone from lawmakers to the FCC to industry leaders and consumers can agree that the desired benefits of an open Internet—free speech, innovation, economic prosperity, democratic participation, e-learning, and telemedicine—cannot be realized if the Internet is not safe and secure.