CCIA wrote to
members of Congress today as they prepare to mark up a new Internet Freedom
bill. In the letter to leaders of the Energy and Commerce Committee and its
Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, CCIA warned that legislation,
designed to reinforce U.S. support for a global open Internet free of
international regulation, is not only unnecessary, but could be misused to
undermine the authority of the FCC to protect domestic consumer and business
access to the Internet, and promote interconnection among U.S.network
providers. Another unintended consequence is that pending legislation like this
could actually be counterproductive to our united front in sensitive
international debates on Internet freedom by appearing to dictate to other
nations what acceptable Internet policy is in their home countries.
The bill seeks to codify language from a resolution last
year before the World Conference on International Telecommunications that
signaled the United States’ commitment to keep the Internet free from
inter-governmental control, of the sort certain Internet restricting countries
have been pushing for the past year. The problem is this bill could be
misinterpreted to block a US government agency from doing its job to protect
our own consumers – including its open Internet rule that prevents dominant US
Internet access providers from becoming gatekeepers for Internet content. CCIA
has long believed that neither government nor private companies should have the
power to regulate the Internet. Ensuring affordable ubiquitous consumer
and business access to the Internet is a critical part of the FCC's mandate to
make advanced communications services available to all Americans.
CCIA is a longtime supporter of the multi-stakeholder model
of global Internet governance. We were part of the U.S. delegation to the ITU
meeting in Dubai last year that worked to oppose international government
control over the Internet that would interfere with international data flows
and online content. This is an ongoing battle fought on many fronts around the
world, and CCIA will next engage in the World Technology Policy Forum in Geneva
in May. We do understand and support actions that would make a positive
difference in the struggle for Internet freedom around the world.
Unfortunately, we do not believe domestic legislation would help, and
could in fact hurt the cause.
