By Berin Szóka
JOHN OLIVER’S RIGHT about one thing: It’s time to resolve the net neutrality debate. The host of HBO’s Last Week Tonight recently urged his viewers to deluge the Federal Communications Commission with comments. But the discussion the FCC will open this week isn’t really about “net neutrality”; it’s about whether to trust the FCC with broader powers over the internet.
The core of net neutrality has never really been controversial. Coined in 2003 by Tim Wu, who was my internet law professor, the idea was embraced by the FCC under President George W. Bush. The FCC’s Open Internet Policy Statement of 2005 affirmed consumers’ rights to access the lawful content, services, and applications of their choice in a competitive marketplace. No onewants broadband providers blocking or throttling traffic. And ISPs have made legally enforceable promises not to do these things.
FCC chair Ajit Pai doesn’t oppose net neutrality, as Oliver claims. Pai simply rejects the broader powers the FCC has claimed in the name of net neutrality. Only Congress can put net neutrality on a sound legal footing.