Leading Think Tank Proposes Bipartisan Net Neutrality Legislation

WASHINGTON—Despite long-running partisan disputes over net neutrality, a new report argues that bipartisan compromise legislation is readily attainable. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), the world’s top think tank for science and technology policy, outlines a legislative solution that would end the pattern of dramatic swings from over-regulation to under-regulation by establishing Federal Communications Commission (FCC) oversight of light-touch net neutrality rules.

“Rather than falling back on flawed and outdated legal frameworks, policymakers should negotiate in earnest to end the debate on net neutrality through legislation that can stand the test of time,” said Doug Brake, ITIF director of broadband and spectrum policy and author of the report. “There is a clear opportunity for a bipartisan compromise that would lock in noncontroversial bright-line protections, end the absurd back-and-forth on FCC jurisdiction that happens whenever power changes hands, and make serious advances to close the digital divide—to everyone’s benefit.”

The report’s proposed framework would expand the scope of existing proposals by pairing funding for rural broadband as well as broadband adoption and digital-literacy programs with baseline rules to protect and promote the open Internet.

The report argues a bipartisan legislative compromise should:

• Clarify that broadband Internet access service is not a “telecommunications service” under Title II of the Communications Act;
• Put widely agreed upon open Internet protections, including no-blocking, no-throttling, and transparency requirements, on firm legal ground;
• Allow pro-competitive traffic differentiation for applications that require it, while preventing anticompetitive abuses of prioritization;
• Give the FCC reasonable, but bounded, jurisdiction to enforce open Internet rules, and;
• Work to bridge the digital divide by funding digital-literacy and broadband-adoption programs, as well as rural broadband infrastructure.

“Despite all appearances, the net neutrality debate is closer to consensus than ever before. Now is the time for good-faith negotiations,” said Brake. “Congress has the opportunity to move beyond partisan stalemates and turn what appears to be an intractable debate into a win for U.S. consumers and businesses alike.”

Read the report.