WASHINGTON – The Republican-led U.S. House voted on Friday to reverse the Federal Communications Commission and kill a net-neutrality rule barring Internet-service providers led by AT&T Inc. from interfering with subscribers’ Web traffic.
The resolution to overturn the FCC’s December action faces a veto threat from President Barack Obama. It must pass the Democrat-led Senate before reaching the president’s desk.
The measure passed by the House on a 240-179 vote, with 234 votes from Republicans, is a resolution of disapproval that would wipe out the FCC’s regulation and prevent the agency from writing similar rules.
The regulation, approved by the FCC on a 3-2 Democrat-led vote, bars Internet-service providers from blocking or slowing Web content sent to homes and businesses, while allowing mobile-phone companies to put limits on traffic.
“We’re here to put the brakes on runaway bureaucracy” that is attempting “to seize control” of the Internet, Representative Fred Upton, the Michigan Republican who is chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, said during debate before the House vote.
Democrats said the FCC’s rule would preserve the open Internet. “This bill would give big phone and cable companies control over what websites Americans can visit,” said Henry Waxman, a California Democrat.
Favored Content
Service providers including AT&T and Verizon Communications Inc. say the rule isn’t needed and may crimp their ability to ensure that networks run smoothly. Supporters say the rule would prevent abuses by telephone and cable companies that may favor their own fare while blocking or delaying rivals’ offerings.
Majority Leader Eric Cantor, a Virginia Republican, in an e-mailed statement called the vote “an important step to bring down the FCC’s harmful and partisan plan to regulate the Internet.
“These regulations give the government unwarranted authority to control broadband networks which ultimately will hinder a thriving industry, harm competition and stifle innovation,” Cantor said.
Netflix Inc., the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and the Computer and Communications Industry Association with members including Google Inc., Yahoo! Inc. and Facebook Inc. opposed the resolution in letters released by House Democrats.
“I’m disappointed that House leadership wants to undo the integrity of the FCC’s process and unravel their good work,” Senator Jay Rockefeller, the West Virginia Democrat who is chair of the Commerce Committee, said in an e-mailed statement. ‘Americans want the Internet to remain free and open and the FCC’s net neutrality rules provided just that.’’
Competing Interests
“It is a shame that the House is focused on protecting the interests of large telecommunications companies rather than on promoting the interests of innovative entrepreneurs,” Gigi Sohn, president of Public Knowledge, a Washington-based advocacy group, said in an e-mail.
Robert Kenny, an FCC spokesman, declined to comment.
Obama’s advisers will recommend that he veto the resolution if it passes Congress, the administration said in a statement April 4. Obama backed net neutrality during his election campaign.
The resolution of disapproval is “an exercise in futility” because neither the Senate nor Obama will approve it, Waxman said in an interview before the vote.
On Friday, Verizon dropped 4 cents to $37.72 at 4:15 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange trading. AT&T gained 17 cents to $30.71.
