Today, Federal Communications Commission Chair Jessica Rosenworcel (D) announced plans to bring back heavy-handed net neutrality rules to regulate the internet by rescinding the Restoring Internet Freedom Order. In response to this attempt to gain more government control over the internet, CAGW President Tom Schatz issued the following statement:

“After the Restoring Internet Freedom Order (RIFO) was adopted in 2018, broadband internet service providers have made significant capital investments, including a record $102.4 billion in 2022, to upgrade networks, expand deployment, reduce the digital divide, and increase the affordability of connecting every household and business that wants to be connected. Any effort to undo this progress and restore net neutrality through Title II regulations as they existed under the Open Internet Order will stifle innovation, harm consumers and taxpayers, and provide an opportunity for other countries to take over America’s position as the global leader in telecommunications. While the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had been operating in a bipartisan manner, Chair Jessica Rosenworcel has decided to begin the partisan process of rescinding the RIFO. In addition to the damage and uncertainty this will cause to one of the most vibrant parts of the U.S. economy, it would be a proceeding for which two former solicitors general from the Obama administration have said the FCC has no authority and the Supreme Court will overturn based on the binding precedent of its decision that the RIFO is constitutional. The proceeding will be a waste of taxpayer dollars that should be opposed by every American who wants less government control over telecommunications and more efficient, effective broadband deployment to businesses and households throughout the country.”

CAGW is the nation’s largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.

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