ALEXANDRIA, VA – Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai today circulated an eagerly anticipated draft Restoring Internet Freedom order to his fellow commissioners, detailing a proposal to reverse the radical Title II regulatory framework imposed by the previous FCC toward the end of President Obama’s tenure. 

In response, Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) President Jeffrey Mazzella issued the following statement: 

"CFIF enthusiastically applauds FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, Commissioner Michael O'Rielly and Commissioner Brendan Carr for their leadership in restoring regulatory certainty and sanity to the internet sector.  We also thank them for undertaking this process in a truly open and transparent manner. 

"For over twenty years, the internet flourished and transformed our lives like no other innovation in history.  As Chairman Pai himself has noted, 'The internet is the greatest free-market success story in history.'  That occurred because administrations of both political parties spanning two decades wisely chose a 'light touch' regulatory approach to the internet.  

"Two years ago, however, the Obama-Wheeler FCC radically reversed two decades of bipartisan precedent by needlessly reclassifying internet service as a 'public utility' under 1930s laws enacted for copper-wire telephone service.  That reversal was not based upon evidence, law or logic.  The internet wasn't 'broken' or in need of some heavy-handed federal regulatory 'fix.'  Obama’s FCC simply wished to extend government control over yet another sector of our economy. 

"The negative consequences of that 'Title II' reclassification were immediate and severe.  Domestic broadband capital expenditures declined by 5.6%, or $3.6 billion, which marked the first time that such investment declined outside of a recession during the internet era.  And one recent study found that it reduced investment below the level it otherwise would have reached by 20% to 30% annually.

"Title II proponents typically repeat a litany of scare tactics and hyperbole, but such criticisms are without merit.  This proposal to roll back Title II is not some radical new deregulatory policy, as they claim. Rather, it is an effort to restore the bipartisan status quo that has enabled the internet economy to thrive. 

"Moreover, this proposal won't suddenly give service providers some green light to engage in nefarious behavior.  The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which is the superior federal agency regarding matters of consumer protection and prohibiting unfair practices, will resume proper oversight authority that was improperly co-opted by the Obama-Wheeler FCC. 

"Simply put, it is critical that the FCC restore the light-touch regulatory approach to the internet, and CFIF applauds Chairman Pai’s efforts to restore common sense and bipartisanship to internet regulation.  We look forward to its final passage later this year."    

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