Post: Wheeler Looks to Ignore President's Net Neutrality Advice Wednesday Nov 12 2014 12:11 EDT While the President this week made it clear he unequivocally supports Title II reclassification of ISPs to protect net neutrality, he also made it clear that the FCC is an independent agency that is technically free to make up its own mind on such issues (though not without political and career fallout). In his public statement following the announcement, Wheeler too made it clear the FCC is an "independent regulatory agency," repeating that the agency remains invested in its "hybrid" approach of only reclassifying ISP to edge network connections under Title II. It remains entirely possible that Wheeler could ignore the President and stick with his hybrid plan, even though very few consumer advocates support the idea. That seems to be the suggestion made by this Washington Post article, which claims shortly after the President's announcement Wheeler met with tech companies to say he's not going to be fully following the President's advice: quote:
Huddled in an FCC conference room Monday with officials from major Web companies, including Google, Yahoo and Etsy, agency Chairman Tom Wheeler said he preferred a more nuanced solution. His approach would deliver some of what Obama wants but also would address the concerns of the companies that provide Internet access to millions of Americans, such as Comcast, Time Warner Cable and AT&T.“What you want is what everyone wants: an open Internet that doesn’t affect your business,” a visibly frustrated Wheeler said at the meeting, according to four people who attended. “What I’ve got to figure out is how to split the baby."
Since the Post story was published I've seen several people (including former Public Knowledge boss Gigi Sohn) insist that Wheeler's comments at the meeting were taken out of context by the Post:Regardless, with ISPs likely suing no matter what Wheeler tries to implement, most consumer advocates argue that he should just follow through on Title II and make the protracted legal fight ISPs are clearly itching for actually worth having. |
