[NewsPoster]

Legislation has been filed opposing the US Federal Communication Commission's Title II and net neutrality vote. Representative Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) is driving the "Internet Freedom Act" which if passed will block the FCC from implementing its net neutrality proposal, including Title II, and strip the agency of the ability to issue a new rule on the matter. The move is similar to one she took in July, trying to strip the FCC of regulatory powers, over a slightly different matter. Ironically, Blackburn represents a district that enjoys high competition, above-average speeds, and dramatically lower pricing than average.

Blackburn claims that "last week's vote by the FCC to regulate the Internet like a 1930s era public utility is further proof that the Obama Administration will stop at nothing in their efforts to control the Internet. There is nothing 'free and open' about this heavy-handed approach. These overreaching rules will stifle innovation, restrict freedoms, and lead to billions of dollars in new fees and taxes for American consumers."

There may be more to her bill than publicly put forth -- she filed a bill in July to block municipal broadband build-outs at the federal level in July of 2014, for similar reasons, ostentibly to prevent federal interference. The vote last week also specifically allowed Tenessee -- her own state -- to extend a successful community broadband network.

Showing a lack of understanding on traffic prioritization, as well as a lack of familiarity with the stated provisions of the bill, Blackburn also claims that "once the federal government establishes a foothold into managing how Internet service providers run their networks they will essentially be deciding which content goes first, second, third, or not at all. My legislation will put the brakes on this FCC overreach and protect our innovators from these job-killing regulations."

The bill specifies that "the rule adopted by the Federal Communications Commission in GN Docket No. 14–28 on February 26, 2015 (relating to broadband Internet access service) shall have no force or effect, and the Commission may not reissue such rule in substantially the same form, or issue a new rule that is substantially the same as such rule, unless the reissued or new rule is specifically authorized by a law enacted after the date of the enactment of this Act." Some exceptions are made for ensuring the public safety, or to prevent damage to the national security of the US, but the bill would remove all regulation powers over the Internet from the FCC.

Blackburn, who has taken $100,000 in lobbyist dollars from the cable industry in the last election, claims that she "has been leading the fight against the Obama Administration's net neutrality regulations since they were first proposed in 2010 by Former Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski." Blackburn's bill is supported by 33 Republicans, all with similar campaign contributions from the telecommunications industry. Critics have denounced Blackburn as a textbook example of a "bought and sold" politician who's loyalty is only to industry lobbyists, ignoring the benefits and success of the competitive market in her own district.

Internet Freedom act

[OldMacGeek]

Another case of "Follow the Money." Let's hope this one dies as quickly as the last one.

[prl99]

Internet freedom act? For whom? Not for the users only for Internet companies.

[DiabloConQueso]

...yet they're just fine with regulation of phone and utilities. Don't see many bills being passed to repeal regulation of those industries.

[climacs]

FREEDOM!!!... for big ISPs to gouge their customers coming and going.

[DiabloConQueso]

Yep, the only "freedoms" that Title II regulation of the internet took away was the freedoms of the ISPs to perform traffic-shaping and manipulation of data that doesn't belong to them flowing through their servers.

[xomniron]

"Congress moves to prevent unauthorized FCC regulatory over-reach and government takeover of the Internet." There, I fixed the headline for you.

[DiabloConQueso]

I'd rather have the government take over the internet than the ISPs, which is exactly where the ISPs were headed (and some of whom were already part-way there).

Of course, that's assuming that Title II regulation is "a government take-over," which it's not -- but the phrase is thrown around quite a bit as a sensationalistic, fear-mongering, shock-and-awe tactic.

[emig647]

Follow the money is right... look at her campaign contributors... AT&T, Comcast AND Verizon...

https://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/contrib.php?cycle=2014&cid=N00003105&type=I&newmem =N

[Flying Meat]

There is nothing over-reach about it. The FCC has "Communications" in it's name. It's what they are there for.
They are independent, so how is it unauthorized?
If it were the CIA, or the FBI, then I could see you saying the "government takeover of the internet", but this is merely regulation, and pretty light weight regulation at that.

[Charles Martin]

In fact, the FCC proposal simply ensures that the Internet runs the way it does now, instead of the radical "free market" change that was about to be implemented. People who think otherwise simply don't understand the bill, and instead of examining the proposal with an open mind are just repeating what bought-off "leaders" told them to think.

[HPeet]

CM. Again the voice of reason.

Any chance Sony will make a movie on this one...?

[Stuke]

When is she up for re-election...time to get Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon out of office!