Showtime for Net neutrality: FCC chief to lay out plans for repeal

The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission is expected Wednesday to unveil his game plan for revamping net neutrality.

Two years ago, the FCC — then supported by President Obama and led by Democrats — passed Open Internet rules that prevented Internet service providers from throttling or blocking content online.

But Republican Ajit Pai, who voted against those rules as a commissioner and was named chairman by President Trump three months ago, has made no secret of his desire to replace those regulations. The rules have "had harmful effects on the marketplace," in part by depressing investment by Internet service providers, Pai said last week.

The chairman is scheduled to make a speech in Washington Wednesday about the future of Internet regulation. As part of the speech, the chairman is expected to announce the FCC will begin taking public comment on the process to repeal the rules, according to a report from Recode, which cited unnamed persons familiar with the matter. The agency could hold an initial vote on the proposal at the FCC's next meeting May 18, these people told Recode.

Conservative-libertarian group FreedomWorks, which opposed the passage of the rules in 2015, and the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, which has supported the current FCC's regulatory reduction efforts, are hosting Wednesday's event.

In recent weeks, Pai has met with representatives of businesses engaged in all facets of the online economy — from ISPs to tech giants such as Facebook — in preparation for the agency's net neutrality revisitation. Last week, Pai met with companies in Silicon Valley to listen to concerns. "I think they were appreciative that I was reaching out and trying to solicit a diversity of views among a diversity of stakeholders," he told reporters after Thursday's April 20 monthly meeting.

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The NCTA, a trade group that includes as members broadband providers Comcast, Cox and Charter, told Pai that it opposes the current regulations, but "remains open to enforceable and reasonable open Internet protections," in a letter filed two weeks ago with the FCC. They argue the current rules, which use public utility-style regulation authority, squelch investment and innovation.

In contrast, the Internet Association — its ranks include Amazon, Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Netflix — has urged Pai and the FCC to uphold the current regulations. They stress the importance of provisions that prevent ISPs from slowing traffic and favoring their own content, especially as ISPs and mobile broadband providers expand their own libraries of Web sites and streaming channels. AT&T is seeking to acquire Time Warner, while Verizon has acquired AOL and agreed to buy Yahoo's Internet assets; Comcast completed its acquisition of NBCUniversal in 2013.

"The Internet industry is uniform in its belief that net neutrality preserves the consumer experience, competition, and innovation online. In other words, existing net neutrality rules should be enforced and kept intact," the group said in its own recent letter.

But other tech companies including Cisco have argued that paid prioritization could have benefits for consumers in some cases and should not be prohibited. Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins hosted Pai's meeting with representatives from companies including Apple, Intel, Facebook and Oracle, according to Recode.

The chairman's office declined comment. Cisco did not return request for comment.

FCC Commissioner and fellow Republican Michael O'Rielly said Thursday the 2015 net neutrality rules were "unnecessary" and that Congress should resolve the issue, which the FCC has been wrestling with for more than a decade.

Pai maintains the FCC two years ago went too far.  "There’s a reason why our Internet economy has been the envy of the world," he said. "It’s because from the dawn of the Clinton administration going forward until 2015 we had a light-touch regulatory framework that created incredible value for the American consumer."

Supporters of the current rules are poised to counter any weakening. Democratic senators and Internet advocates have scheduled a Wednesday morning press conference to remind the public that the issue attracted a record four million public comments prior to the 2015 rules passage. Commissioner Mignon Clyburn and several Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce committee also plan their own Wednesday afternoon event to respond to Pai's expected announcement.

Follow USA TODAY reporter Mike Snider on Twitter: @MikeSnider.