FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly today blasted the commission's net neutrality proposal, calling it too "onerous" for Internet service providers and saying there should be no net neutrality rules until "there's evidence of an actual problem it would address."
O'Rielly, one of two Republicans on the five-member FCC, co-wrote an op-ed in National Review with US Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). In it, they discussed the rules the FCC voted in favor of in May. This proposal was also widely panned by net neutrality advocates because even though it would prevent ISPs from blocking content, it would also allow them to charge third-party Web services for a faster path to consumers, or a "fast lane." FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said his rules would prevent ISPs from degrading the traffic of Web services that don't pay fast lane tolls, but opponents say that creating a faster path for those that do pay is essentially the same thing.
O'Rielly thinks the FCC erred by issuing rules at all. "In its most recent Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on net neutrality, the FCC shirked its responsibility again. The commission's woefully inadequate 'analysis' started with an unfounded assumption that the rules would be beneficial, then proposed several pages of onerous requirements, and concluded with one meager paragraph seeking comment on how to minimize the unquantified burdens," Blackburn and O'Rielly wrote. "Seeking comment on burdens is no substitute for performing an actual cost-benefit analysis, and doing so as an afterthought shows a disregard for the president's directives."
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