House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) announced on Tuesday that he will partner with Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) to review and update the Communications Act.
The legislators made the announcement via Google Hangout and highlighted the need to modernize the Communications Act.
“Today we are launching a multi-year effort to examine our nation’s communications laws and update them for the Internet era,” Upton said. “The United States has been the global leader in innovation and growth of the Internet, but unfortunately our communications laws have failed to keep pace…”
The process to modernize the Communications Act will utilize digital media platforms to promote discussion, and a series of white papers will pose questions about how laws can be improved.
“…Throughout the recent economic downturn and recovery, the communications and technology sectors have remained stalwarts of our national economy – providing services that consumers demand while investing, innovating and producing the high-quality jobs that all Americans strive for,” Upton said. “We must ensure that our laws make sense for today but are also ready for the innovations of tomorrow.”
Walden noted that the Communications Act was drafted during the Great Depression and was last updated 18 years ago.
“…Our goal is to make sure this critical sector of our economy thrives because of the laws around it, not in spite of them,” Walden said.