Net Neutrality Concerns Raised in House FCC Hearing as Agency Remains Deadlocked

Federal communications authorities and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle agreed that all Americans need to be connected to the internet, but some partisan broadband issues were in the air at a March 31 hearing.

All four sitting commissioners of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission testified to the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology. The hearing marked the first with agency leader Jessica Rosenworcel officially helming the FCC, following a nearly year-long window in which she served as the agency's acting chairwoman. It also served as Nathan Simington's first testimony to a Congressional panel as a commissioner.

One major topic of conversation at the hearing was the question of whether the FCC should reinstate net neutrality protections that had been implemented under the Obama administration and then later repealed during the Trump administration. President Joe Biden has called for the protections to be put back in place, a move that would likely require the FCC to reclassify broadband as a Title II service.

Title II classification would give the agency more regulatory authority over broadband service providers such as Comcast Corp. and Verizon Communications Inc. Proponents say it would prevent internet service providers from blocking or throttling access to content, while opponents argue it serves as an obstacle to internet development and innovation, as Title II would also give the FCC the authority to impose rate regulations.

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