FCC chairman grilled at House subcommittee hearing

[KeepItReal]

Source: USA Today

The Federal Communications Commission won't earn unanimous acclaim with its plan to create new net neutrality, if agency chairman Tom Wheeler's reception at a House hearing Tuesday is an indication.

Over two hours, House Energy and Commerce subcommittee members alternately railed at the FCC chairman for considering the possibility of regulating the Internet as a utility -- and for considering to allow content providers to pay for their data to be given priority over that of competitors.

Wheeler attempted to reassure them that the agency's primary goal is approval of new net neutrality, or open Internet, regulations to ensure that all data on the Net is treated equally. "We've tried," he said, "to come up with a proposal that stops blocking (and) that prohibits anything that degrades a consumer's access."

...

Asked by Latta what Wheeler has heard so far, the chairman said, "two diametrically- opposed positions: One is that you should not do anything and the other is that we should go all way to being regulated like a public utility. Our job is to find that which is best for consumers and best for encouraging investment in the Internet."

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/05/20/house-fcc-chairman-wheeler-net-neutrality/9328489/

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Note that Chairman Wheeler talks out of both sides of his neck:

He says comments to FCC saying "don't do anything" (in terms of the ridiculous rules allowing paid priority access he has proposed) are in opposition to the comments saying "regulate ISPs like utilities" (making sure all internet traffic is treated equally with no paid priority access).

This smarmy b@stard won't admit the majority of the comments equal a vote to NOT allow paid priority for internet content. And failing that, then make sure ISPs are treated like utilities/common carriers so that no internet traffic is prioritized higher than any other.

[upaloopa]

1. Investment in the Internet is the operating phrase

People with money want more money and they see a way to make it by selling something they don't own right now.
New rules would give a minority of people rights that the rest of us can't get.
It is similar to privatizing social security or to make water a traded commodity. Soon they will want to charge you for breathing.

[tofuandbeer]

2. +1

[bjobotts]

18. Mike Papatonio says this is all theatre.Wheeler already sold us out

[billhicks76]

21. Obama!!!!!!

Fire that stooge. Think you can do the right thing for once?

[Ed Suspicious]

16. Exactly what I thought when I read it.

[genwah]

3. Am I wrong, or doesn't Tom Wheeler serve at the pleasure of the President. Why is he still around?

[KeepItReal]

5. Since he was only appointed last year, I think he was and remains the President's choice

to head the FCC

[onenote]

7. You are wrong. He does not serve at the pleasure of the President.

As the head of an independent federal regulatory agency, he cannot be removed by the president. This has been the law of the land since the decision in the Humphrey's Executor case in the 1930s.

[genwah]

11. Thank you. I wasn't sure. Cabinet posts, etc, but FCC...

[24601]

23. FCC commissioners have fixed terms. Wheeler's runs until 2018.

[2banon]

12. Laws Smaws.. deregulations have essentially shredded anything meaninful

What you're saying maybe still be "on the books", but as we have witnessed these past two - three decades vis a vis deregulations, anything accidently left on the books, is "just a piece of worthless paper". ya know, like the constitution.

and we also know, that Presidential appointees, with rare exceptions, do serve at the pleasure of the one that brought them.. regardless of what is on the books.

[onenote]

15. Really. Name an FCC Commissioner that was fired by the President.

There have been more than 80, so it shouldn't be hard for you to name one.
Unless of course you're wrong. Which you are.

[2banon]

22. I never said any of them were fired.

maybe you accidently replied to the wrong post?

[onenote]

25. Maybe so.

I thought you were defending the claim that FCC Commissioners serve at the pleasure of the President, meaning that the President could fire Wheeler. Glad to have it cleared up that you weren't.

[2banon]

26. Why would the President want to Fire Wheeler?

It's all going according to the industry's plans. The agenda was set years ago, and Wheeler seems to be managing to meet their goals well enough despite groundswell of activism opposing the dismantling of net neutrality, and the merging of industry content creators/distributing/delivery into one mega monopoly, etc., etc., etc...

[onenote]

27. Beats me. Wasn't my idea. I was just pointing out that even if he wanted to

he couldn't.

[justhanginon]

9. That's what I thought too. If so,

the President can disappoint or unhire or to put it crudely, fire the bastard! Since Wheeler's allegiance is not to the general public but rather to the industries he has represented in the past he should be relieved of his job. That is, if the President meant what he said about net neutrality and I sincerely hope he does.

[2banon]

13. the reasons he was appointed, is because of his connection and loyalty to the industry

it was a quid pro quo from the Prez to the Cable industry. ya know, campaign fundy thingy.

[bjobotts]

19. Wheeler was a lobbyists for the cable companies

[NorthCarolina]

14. Do you believe that Obama has a differing view of the future of Net Neutrality

than his appointee Wheeler? I do not believe Obama was oblivious to Wheelers background or his desire to put toll booths on the internet when he appointed him to the FCC. Rather, I suspect Wheeler was appointed by Obama precisely BECAUSE OF his views.

[Ed Suspicious]

17. And you would be precisely right in my view.

[24601]

24. FCC commissioners have fixed terms. Wheeler's runs until 2018. Can't be fired for policy

differences, only for cause involving misconduct.

[DallasNE]

4. Investment Will Dry Up For All But The Paid Subscribers

That will squeeze out all but the "big boys" and deal a catastrophic blow to the internet as we know it. That is the predictable consequence of market based solutions -- just follow the money.

[KeepItReal]

6. If Wheeler has his way, part of every content startup's business plan will include payments to ISPs

for that priority/fast lane access to the ISP's customers. (Like Netflix paid to Comcast)


Comcast/Verizon/AT&T/Time Warner/Cox CEOs

[onenote]

8. Actually I think Wheeler accurately described the opposing positions

One side (represented by the two republican members of the FCC and most congressional republicans) think that the FCC should stand down from trying to reimpose any rules to replace those struck down by the DC Circuit in January thereby allowing Internet Service Providers to be completely unregulated. The other side in the debate consists largely of those who believe the FCC not only should reimpose the rules that were struck down, but should strengthen based on the theory that the Internet is a "Title II" common carrier service.

[KeepItReal]

10. Doing nothing/standing down/unregulation = allowing paid content prioritization deals

Comcast's deal with Netflix would be the standard, going forward, if the FCC does nothing.

Every other ISP could follow suit, seeing how the FCC has done nothing to challenge the practice of making content providers (like Netflix) pay for "enhanced" speed on the carrier's (Comcast) network into subscriber's homes.

[bjobotts]

20. Wheeler wants you to think it's still up for discussion. It's not.

He knows it too. he sold out net neutrality. It will be lilke a phone company that can bill you $1 dollar to talk to your cousin about the weather and $25 to talk to the same cousin about making $50. Pay more and get primo unless your local cable company carries their own version of netflix in a bundle for less. Then if you refuse it suddenly your primo netflix starts running real slow. Poor folks will get screwed the most like they do now with smart phones.
It will come to pass that we will tell our grand kids how we all used to get all the internet sites for one price...remember net neutrality.