Congress in both the House and the Senate are moving to
protect the Internet from the hands of the Federal government; viz., the
Federal Communication Commission (FCC) bureaucracy making law rather than
Congress. All bureaucratic rules touted as Federal law should be verified by
Congress before it has the force of law.
The legislation would not only take a politicized FCC out of
the Internet, but would keep some of good parts of the Net Neutrality issues
such as preventing ISP blocking or slowing data streaming of companies or
ideologies out of favor of the an ISP owner.
JRH 1/5/18
***********************
Open Internet Preservation Act Seeks To Stop Internet
Censorship & Promote Free Flow Of Information
By TIM BROWN
JANUARY 4, 2018
Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)
has introduced HR4682,
the Open Internet Preservation Act, in the House of Representatives, along
with 21
co-sponsors.
The bill, which was referred
to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce near the end of December, seeks
to "amend the Communications Act of 1934 to ensure internet openness, to
prohibit blocking of lawful content, applications, services, and non-harmful
devices, to prohibit impairment or degradation of lawful internet traffic, to
limit the authority of the Federal Communications Commission and to preempt
State law with respect to internet openness obligations, to provide that broadband
internet access service shall be considered to be an information service, and
for other purposes."
This legislation begins to
address the growing threat by corporate giants, not just broadband services
that are seeking to eliminate anything by the state-controlled message to the
masses rather than allowing the internet to be a free flow of information.
“The Open Internet
Preservation Act will ensure the internet is a free and open space,” said Rep.
Blackburn, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Communications and
Technology Subcommittee.
“This legislation is simple,
it provides light-touch regulation so companies can invest and innovate, and
makes sure our internet is up to 21st century standards,” she added.
Blackburn's bill was
introduced on December 19, 2017 and came just one week after the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) repealed the 2015 Title II regulations under
the Communications Act of 1934, the so-called net neutrality rules.
The repealed regulations
classified broadband internet as a utility-like tool for communication. It will
now be categorized as an information service, which is what it is.
However, the repeal removes
bans on throttling, blocking and paid prioritization, as well as on how much
data companies would have to report.
So, Rep. Blackburn’s bill
would seek to restore some of those newly adopted regulations, but not all of
them.
Among the things HR 4682
would restore are two provisions of the net neutrality. It bans both
blocking and throttling while not including a ban on paid prioritization.
Blackburn sought to block the
implementation of Net Neutrality in several congresses she served in.
In the 112th, 113th and 114th
Congress, Blackburn introduced the Internet
Freedom Act, legislation that would block the FCC’s Net
Neutrality rules by stating that they shall have no force or effect and
prohibits the FCC from reissuing new Net Neutrality rules.
In 2016, the Senate
introduced a companion to Blackburn’s bill, S. 2602. The bill was introduced by
Senator Mike Lee (R-UT). Co-sponsors included Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Ted
Cruz (R-TX), Rand Paul (R-KY), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Thom Tillis (R-NC), John
Cornyn (R-TX), and Benjamin Sasse (R-NE).
“We must stop the FCC’s Net
Neutrality rules, which are nothing more than a Trojan horse for government
takeover of the Internet," rep. Blackburn said. "These
overreaching rules will stifle innovation, restrict freedoms, and lead to
billions of dollars in new fees and taxes for American consumers. We thank
Senator Lee for introducing the Senate version and look forward to working with
him as we move this forward."
“The economic burden of these
regulations will fall squarely on the backs of the consumers the FCC purports
to help," Senator Lee said. "The threat of anticompetitive
behavior should always be taken seriously. But it makes no sense for a
five-person panel of presidential appointees to write a sweeping law aimed at
solving a problem that might someday exist. There are more effective, more
democratic, and less intrusive ways to address anticompetitive behavior,
including existing antitrust and consumer-protection laws."
Blackburn commended Ajit Pai
for his getting net neutrality rules repealed and said that he "had done
his job."
Rep. Stivers, who
co-sponsored the bill, said of the legislation, “Bottom line: Free and open
internet should never be a partisan issue. This bill would put into law
crucial consumer protections that millions of Americans have asked for and that
are emphasized in the principles of net neutrality.”
He added that the bill did
just that “without imposing the burdensome and overly broad aspects that were
originally designed for the rotary telephone on the cultural and economic
engine that is our modern internet.”
The fight for a free and fair
internet is possibly the biggest fight of the century. If you wish to
voice support for this legislation, please contact your representative or senator today!
______________________
Tim Brown is an author and Editor at FreedomOutpost.com, SonsOfLibertyMedia.com, GunsInTheNews.com and TheWashingtonStandard.com. He is husband to
his "more precious than rubies" wife, father of 10 "mighty
arrows", jack of all trades, Christian and lover of liberty. He resides in
the U.S. occupied Great State of South Carolina. Tim is also an affiliate for
the Joshua Mark 5 AR/AK hybrid semi-automatic
rifle. Follow Tim on Twitter.
