U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) urged Congress on Tuesday to hold immediate hearings and quickly pass legislation to block what he refers to as “a dangerous and reckless plan” by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to regulate the Internet.
“As the FCC prepares to assert absolute government control of the Internet, Congress should do everything possible to stop this outrageous power grab,” Buchanan said. “The last thing we need are unelected bureaucrats destroying the concept of a free and fair Internet.”
Authored by FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, to proposal is expected to be approved on Thursday. The new regulations would classify the Internet as a public utility, similar to telephone service. This classification would place use of the Web under government regulatory control in an unprecedented fashion.
Two of the five FCC commissioners oppose the plan, but that would not be enough to stop its passage. Those two officials, Ajit Pai and Lee Goodman, wrote a joint op-ed that was published on Monday, explaining their opinion that an Internet free of taxes and government regulation has worked well for America for the last 20 years.
“Internet freedom works,” they wrote. “It is difficult to imagine where we would be today had the government micromanaged the Internet for the past two decades as it does Amtrak and the U.S. Postal Service. Neither of us wants to find out where the Internet will be two decades from now if the federal government tightens its regulatory grip.”