A top FCC official took to Twitter today to confirm that the chairman has circulated revised net neutrality rules to his colleagues, and stressed that the agency is open to other solutions and viewpoints.
"The draft asks if paid prioritization should be banned outright [and] seeks comment on best ways 2 protect innovators," Gigi Sohn, Special Counsel for External Affairs within FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler's office, said during a Tuesday Twitter Q&A.
That confirms a Sunday Wall Street Journal report, which said that Wheeler had circulated an updated net neutrality proposal amidst the backlash over his first draft. Internet activists were up in arms that it allowed for broadband providers to ink paid prioritization deals in "commercially reasonable" instances. The updated proposal spells out that the FCC would not accept any sort of deal that threatens the open Web.
.@spiffymego Chairman wants 2 ensure all Americans can get unfettered access 2 the content & application they want. #FCCNetNeutrality
— Gigi Sohn (@GigiBSohnFCC) May 13, 2014Though some commissioners wanted to delay a vote, the proposal will be considered at the FCC's May 15 open meeting. If the FCC approves the chairman's plan, the agency will accept public comments until September, with a final decision expected by year's end, Sohn said.
The 60-day comment period, followed by a 60-day reply-comment period will allow the FCC to gather input from stakeholders before crafting final rules. Some of the things the FCC wants input on, Sohn said, is a plan from Mozilla whereby the FCC would "shift its attention away from authority questions once and for all, and focus instead on adopting clear rules prohibiting blocking and discrimination online."
Another option the FCC will consider is reclassifying broadband as a telecom service rather than an information service. That way, regulation of ISPs would fall squarely in the FCC's wheelhouse, and those ISPs would have less of a case if they decided to challenge rules crafted by the FCC. The issue - known as Title II because of its placement in the Communications Act - is highly contentious and largely considered to be a last resort, though Sohn said today that the "Chairman has always been clear that Title II is a viable option."
The National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA), which represents the nation's top ISPs, came out strongly against reclassification in a recent blog post, which called it "a radical and unwarranted shift in Internet regulation."
The organization pointed to "our nation's crumbling public utilities," and said "today's Internet doesn't suffer these kinds of chronic problems because broadband isn't regulated like a public utility. It grows and thrives through private investment and a light regulatory touch."
Sohn, however, insisted that ISPs "thrived and invested" when the FCC's now-defunct net neutrality rules were in place. The FCC's job is to protect the public's best interest, she said, and that's why the agency is proposing rules to protect the open Internet.
.@neosar: Chairman knows free market won't protect open internet. That's why he's proposing new #FCCNetNeutrality rules - none exist today
— Gigi Sohn (@GigiBSohnFCC) May 13, 2014The FCC's Thursday meeting kicks off at 10:30 a.m. ET; it will be webcast on the agency's website. Until then, see Net Neutrality: What's Really Happening?