Preserving and Maintaining the “Open Internet” with Non-Partisan Legislative Solution

IIA’s Boucher Calls on Congress to Preserve and Maintain the “Open Internet” with Non-Partisan Legislative Solution

Says Congress Can Provide the Certainty Consumers and Industry Need without the Burdens of Utility-style Regulation

WASHINGTON, D.C. – February 26, 2015 – Responding to the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to reclassify broadband Internet services under “Title II” of the 1934 Communications Act, Rick Boucher, a former Democratic congressman from Virginia who chaired the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and the Internet and serves as honorary chairman of the Internet Innovation Alliance (IIA), today released the following statement:

“The FCC’s decision to embrace Title II regulation over the Internet now creates an opportunity for Congress to craft a non-partisan legislative solution that provides the legal certainty necessary to preserve and maintain an “open Internet” without the burdens of utility-style regulation. After more than a decade of wrangling about the proper regulatory classification of broadband services and the scope of the FCC’s authority, it is time for Congress to provide the certainty that consumers and industry need. IIA looks forward to working with members of Congress to ensure that the promise of broadband remains available for entrepreneurs, innovators and America’s consumers without a return to the days of utility regulation.”