Blackburn Takes Swipe At Net Neutrality
House Energy and Commerce Communications Subcommittee member Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., on Tuesday took a swipe at an ongoing push by the Obama administration and high-tech companies to beef up so-called network neutrality rules at the FCC, describing effort as "the fairness doctrine for the Internet." The Commission rescinded that doctrine, which required TV and radio broadcasters to air opposing political viewpoints, in 1987.
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said in September that he does not intend to revive the fairness doctrine amid concerns raised by Republicans and conservative talk radio hosts. He is, however, championing a controversial plan to consider new rules aimed at preserving and promoting consumers' unfettered access to Web content. The FCC will begin its work on that topic Thursday.
Blackburn said her constituents, particularly business owners, fully understand the fairness doctrine and similarly reject the federal government's "policing of how people deploy their content over the Internet." "They want [Internet service providers] to be able to manage those networks. They want to make certain they have the ability to deploy content in a manner negotiated with ISPs," she told a high-tech briefing on Capitol Hill.
She went on to say that Web users "do not want a czar of the Internet" telling them how and when they are able to deploy content or what broadband speeds are available to them.
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