Dem commissioner breaks silence on Internet rules

Democratic Federal Communications Commission member Mignon Clyburn said she is “pleased” that the net neutrality order tracks closely to her prior recommendations. 

During a speech Thursday, she said she was breaking her policy to not publicly discuss proposed orders before a vote is held because of the importance of the net neutrality proposal. 

{mosads}“The Open Internet item vote is clearly one of the most important and consequential decisions this Commission will be called to make,” she said in prepared remarks in front of the Federal Communications Bar Association. “The gravity of it all is not lost on me.”

The order is expected to pass on a 3-2 vote with all the Democratic members voting in favor of it. Nonetheless, Clyburn was careful to say she was still poring over the 332-page document. 

“My office is still in discussions with the Chairman’s office about the item and I will not divulge those specifics,” she said. “But what I will say, is that it is imperative that the order strikes the right balance.”

Her tacit endorsement in the speech was one of the first comments Clyburn has made about the order since it was circulated by FCC Commissioner Tom Wheeler earlier this month. The two Republicans have been most vocal about the order, warning it could lead to increased fees on consumers and may open the door to rate regulation in the future. 

The rules call to reclassify broadband similar to traditional telephones under Title II of the Communications Act. The authority, which will apply to mobile and fixed broadband, is meant to enforce rules blocking service providers from prioritizing any bit of Internet traffic above another. 

Clyburn initially supported the stronger authority during the FCC’s 2010 rulemaking process. She ultimately voted in favor of a compromised version, which ended up being struck down in court last year. 

The commission is slated to vote on the new order next Thursday.