OPINION:
When Democrats won “trifecta” control of both houses of Congress and the presidency in 2008, they “seized the day” — pushing through major legislation like the wasteful stimulus package, and wholesale takeovers of the healthcare and banking systems. They took advantage of their opportunity and hurt America; Conservatives need to take advantage of our opportunity to strengthen America.
That’s why the next six months are so crucial — a critical opportunity for today’s Republican “trifecta” to deliver on conservative principles. An issue they must now address is net neutrality, the notion that no company — be it a broadband provider or tech giant — should be able to manipulate or control our Internet experience or discriminate against “disfavored” content or viewpoints online.
Conservatives and liberals both support the idea of net neutrality. But conservatives believe in establishing strong, clear ground rules to ensure no Internet company will be able to get away with blocking websites, censoring our social media, or manipulating consumer data — and then allowing free markets to decide.
Democrats, on the other hand, want to use the issue as an excuse for more invasive government command and control of the Internet. Right now, they are pursuing something known as the “Congressional Review Act” (CRA) to reinstate overbearing Obama-era rules — rules built on a false narrative in order to put the FCC in charge of not just the open Internet, but also deployment of new infrastructure, prices, new services and technologies, and more.
Based on archaic “public utility” rules designed to rein in the old Ma Bell monopolies, the CRA approach would smother the dynamic “permissionless innovation” culture that has made the modern Internet so great.
The Obama administration’s attempted takeover of the Internet was part of a larger goal to control speech and thought. Conservatives praised then-FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai when he shut down the FCC’s efforts to police newsrooms, and we continue to praise now-Chairman Pai and FCC Commissioners Mike O’Rielly and Brendan Carr as they fight to protect speech online.
In addition to stifling the free speech rights of Americans online, there are a number of severe consequences from using the CRA to reinstate onerous Obama-era rules on the Internet: driving away new investment in broadband, slowing down construction of new networks and eliminating high-wage “hardhat” broadband jobs we need.
In addition to the immediate harm to the marketplace, the funds needed to wire hard-to-reach rural areas and overlooked urban communities will dry up — worsening the digital divide that supposedly is a Democratic priority. These effects are why in the past even liberal icons such as NAACP and the Communications Workers of America have opposed the same “utility rules” the CRA resolution would put in place today.
The politics here are simple. In a classic “bait and switch,” Democrats claim their CRA resolution protects net neutrality in order to lure supporters but behind the curtain lurks a classic big government takeover of the Internet that goes far beyond any question of net neutrality.
Fortunately, so far, almost no Republican has taken the bait, but the pressure is intense from an easily fooled media and the social media grassroots, whereas most Americans simply want an open Internet and rules for accountability. Overreach and government control was the preferred solution to any problem during the Obama Administration, but that approach harmed consumers because it restricted choice and competition.
Instead, Republicans should work with responsible, common sense Democrats on a real, lasting solution to the problem of net neutrality. This is an issue that has bedeviled policymakers and the courts for decades — but one that is ripe to solve today after years of study and controversy.
We need to establish permanent rules. Rules within which the free market can flourish and innovation can continue to thrive. That is how to achieve choice, competition, and accountability. That means ending the costly uncertainty inherent in agency-centric rules that flip flop with every new administration. The absence of a statute is an open invitation for any future Democratic administration to reinstate the far-left agenda of government controlling all aspects of the Internet like new service rollouts, broadband infrastructure, and pricing — all things that the Obama utility rules approach encourages.
Finally, legislation would ensure that the government gets out of the practice — all too common during the Obama era — of picking winners and losers in the marketplace. Thus, the Obama rules were aimed solely at Internet service providers but left the big Internet social media, search, and website companies completely free to mine our data, and manipulate our news. To truly protect an open Internet, rules need to cover the entire ecosystem, something only legislation can fully accomplish.
The Republican majority in Congress has a short window to show that conservative government can deliver for voters — and a popular net neutrality bill is the perfect place to start.
• Daniel Schneider is executive director of the American Conservative Union.
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