FCC Advances Net Neutrality Proposals

FCC commissioners formally launched a process to establish rules of the road for the Internet, sending a proposal out for comment that already has triggered grassroots protest in fears that it will permit big media to gain advantage via faster delivery of content to consumers.

But, reports Variety,  FCC chairman Tom Wheeler stressed that the notice of proposed rulemaking was just the start of a lengthy process that could stretch into the rest of the year. The commission was not voting on the rules themselves, but whether to sent them out for public comment. The vote was 3-2.

“I will not allow the national asset of an open Internet to be compromised,” Wheeler said, during a meeting in which several protesters were removed as they called for robust protections for broadband.

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Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel voted for sending the proposal out for public comment, but she said that the process over the past few weeks was “flawed.” Commissioners Ajit Pai and Michael O’Rielly, Republican-designates on the commission, voted against it. Pai said that the FCC’s authority should be established first by Congress, while O’Rielly warned of regulation that would stifle innovation.

Outside the FCC, protesters gathered to “save the Internet,” reflecting the emotional response to what is perceived as any government effort that could undermine the ubiquity of a connection. A handful of picketers have been camping out at the FCC for days, and several commissioners paid them a visit, including Wheeler, who spoke to them on Wednesday.

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