Sen. Marco Rubio, who could have his eye on the White House in 2016, isn't about to let President Obama get away with calling in the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to implement Internet neutrality -- at least, not without a fight. And one of the largest groups representing Florida's business community has spoken up in opposition to Net neutrality as well.
On Monday, Obama said the FCC needs to do more to ensure Internet providers offer additional transparency and don't block or slow down access to sites.
An open Internet is essential to the American economy, and increasingly to our very way of life, Obama said Monday. By lowering the cost of launching a new idea, igniting new political movements, and bringing communities closer together, it has been one of the most significant democratizing influences the world has ever known.
Net neutrality has been built into the fabric of the Internet since its creation but it is also a principle that we cannot take for granted, Obama added. We cannot allow Internet service providers (ISPs) to restrict the best access or to pick winners and losers in the online marketplace for services and ideas. That is why today, I am asking the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to answer the call of almost 4 million public comments, and implement the strongest possible rules to protect Net neutrality.
Insisting the time has come for the FCC to recognize that broadband service is of the same importance and must carry the same obligations as so many of the other vital services do, Obama called on the FCC to reclassify consumer broadband service under Title II of the Telecommunications Act while at the same time forbearing from rate regulation and other provisions less relevant to broadband services.
But Rubio, a member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, came out swinging at the president's call for Net neutrality.
The Internet is one of the greatest economic stories in all of history, one whose openness has given people unprecedented opportunities to innovate and create jobs, Rubio said on Monday. President Obamas announced support for more government regulation of the Internet threatens to restrict Internet growth and increase costs on Internet users. Furthermore, applying heavy-handed Title II classification to Internet service sends the wrong message to international stakeholders that look to the United States for leadership in Internet governance, and undermines our support for an open Internet, free of government intervention."
Obama had compared the Internet to public utilities and called for simple, common-sense steps that reflect the Internet you and I use every day, and that some ISPs already observe, including no blocking, throttling and pair prioritization.
If carefully designed, these rules should not create any undue burden for ISPs, and can have clear, monitored exceptions for reasonable network management and for specialized services such as dedicated, mission-critical networks serving a hospital, Obama said. But combined, these rules mean everything for preserving the Internets openness. The rules also have to reflect the way people use the Internet today, which increasingly means on a mobile device. I believe the FCC should make these rules fully applicable to mobile broadband as well, while recognizing the special challenges that come with managing wireless networks.
To be current, these rules must also build on the lessons of the past, the president added. For almost a century, our law has recognized that companies who connect you to the world have special obligations not to exploit the monopoly they enjoy over access in and out of your home or business. That is why a phone call from a customer of one phone company can reliably reach a customer of a different one, and why you will not be penalized solely for calling someone who is using another provider. It is common sense that the same philosophy should guide any service that is based on the transmission of information -- whether a phone call, or a packet of data.
Tom Wheeler, chairman of the FCC, seems inclined to go along with Obama and has been supportive of Net neutrality efforts. The FCC currently consists of three Democrats and two Republicans.
Said Rubio, Instead of reclassifying Internet service under Title II of the Telecommunications Act, the FCC should allow Congress to update this law. I believe it should be a top priority of the new Congress to provide clarity on the FCCs role in the modern communications landscape.
Obamas proposal won the support of at least one Democrat from the Sunshine State.
I agree with the president, noted U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., on Monday. We need real Net neutrality, not an Internet run by Comcast.
Meanwhile, back in Florida the Associated Industries of Florida (AIF), known as "the Voice of Florida Business," announced Tuesday its opposition to Net neutrality.
In AIF President and CEO Tom Feeney's prepared statement, he said, AIF believes the action by President Obama to call on the Federal Communications Commission to aggressively regulate Internet services is not in the best interest of Florida businesses and the economy.
While we share the same beliefs in terms of an open and transparent Internet, AIF believes the Internet has flourished with little regulation to date and believes the federal government should not try to micromanage Internet access," Feeney said.
AIF encourages the FCC not to make massive unilateral changes to Internet regulation that would disrupt the free market benefits, including increasing investments and furthering technological advances.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN.
