Political Quotes

“Mr. President, for more than two decades, under both Republican and Democratic Presidents and Republican and Democratic Congresses, the United States pursued a bipartisan light-touch approach to internet regulation. The internet as we know it today flourished under this light-touch approach, much to the benefit of American consumers and the domestic economy. It also made America the world leader in internet technology and positioned us to continue that leadership in the years to come. In 2002, broadband internet was classified by the Federal Communications Commission, or FCC, our Nation's communications regulator, as an information service under title I of the Communications Act. This classification exempted the internet from burdensome regulations contained in title II of the Communications Act, which were designed in the Depression era for the old telephone monopolies. Under the Obama administration, we saw repeated attempts to bring the internet under greater government control. Finally, in 2015, at the explicit direction of President Obama, the FCC did as it was told and reclassified broadband internet access service as a title II service, subjecting broadband internet to onerous common carrier rules and opening the door to further regulation, including price regulation. Not surprisingly, with heavier regulation came a decline in broadband investment. Indeed, we have seen private investment in broadband infrastructure decline over the past 2 years.…”