Reps. Fred Upton (Mich.) and Greg Walden (Ore.), who lead the House Energy and Commerce Committee and its communications and technology subcommittee, respectively, released a white paper outlining flaws that have emerged since the law was last updated more than a decade ago. The paper is the first action in the multi-year effort to revamp the Communications Act.
The 1934 law created and outlined the powers of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), but it has not been significantly modernized since 1996.
Updating the law “is critical to ensuring that the communications and technology sectors, the bright spot of our national economy, have laws and regulations that foster continued innovation and job creation,” Upton and Walden said in a joint statement.
The committee’s white paper also criticized the “siloed” nature of the current law, which has different rules for different kinds of communications. This has created a problem with providers that now offer, for example, combined communication services, such as making calls through an Internet connection. That has created “regulatory uncertainty” about the FCC’s authority, legislators said in their review.
Lawmakers are asking the public to comment on the paper and any other issues related to the Communications Act by the end of the month.
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