Science bloggers may regard Republicans as anti-science but it is hard not to see them as pro-technology. While the FCC, with the support of the Obama administration, has repeatedly attempted to make Internet regulation the domain of government, Republican Senators are standing in the way of the one thing still working in the US economy.
You and the Commission's general counsel have admitted in published statements that the legal justification for imposing these new regulations is questionable and "has a serious risk of failure in court." It is very clear that Congress has not granted the Commission the specific statutory authority to do what you are proposing. Whether and how the Internet should be regulated is something that America's elected representatives in Congress, not the Commission, should determine.
Congress until recently has been laissez-faire regarding the Internet, especially taxation, and with a new Senate majority it would seem those efforts would end but, as we have discussed before, they have continued to try, including before the new session. Oddly, they have drafted rules that will "preserve the freedom and openness of the Internet" but they ironically have refused to disclose those rules to the public ahead of the December 21st vote.
The Examiner linked above article notes incoming chairman of the House Energy and Commerce committee Fred Upton, R-Mich., has already told FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski not to vote on government regulation of 'net neutrality' December 21st:
The FCC does not have authority to regulate the Internet, and pursuing net neutrality through Title I or reclassification is wholly unacceptable. Our new majority will use rigorous oversight, hearings and legislation to fight the FCC's overt power grab.
Thanks, Republicans!
