Time For Bipartisan Action To Protect the Internet
The role and importance of high-speed internet in the lives of everyday Mainers cannot be overstated. It links job-seekers to new employment opportunities, students and those looking to further their careers to educational resources, patients to the latest developments in telemedicine, and businesses to a global economy that demands connectivity. That’s what makes the political games Democrats in Congress are playing with the future of the internet so dangerous—and why we need a fresh, new, bipartisan approach to address the issues consumers face online.
Currently, the House-passed “Save the Internet Act” — which, ironically, would do anything but — is being pushed through without any real debate or careful study as the Democrats’ sole solution to the net neutrality debate. This partisan legislation would not only create needless bureaucracy that stifles innovation, but it wouldn’t do a thing to address the growing concerns most Americans have regarding online privacy and security.
Backed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other prominent Democrats, the so-called Save the Internet Act should be a non-starter if Congress is truly trying to make the internet a free, open, and safe place for all. To begin, the legislation would only apply net neutrality rules — to prevent the blocking, throttling, and censoring of users’ content — on internet service providers, leaving online tech giants like Google, Facebook, and Twitter off the hook entirely. Anyone who spends even a modicum of time online can see the problem with this approach.
Large internet companies like Google and Facebook have become the de facto gatekeepers of the internet. They have unprecedented control over what we see and do online — and have repeatedly used their dominance to favor themselves, censoring differing opinions and prioritizing their services over their competition. These companies have also, time and again, allowed millions upon millions of internet users to have their private, personal data and information exposed or misused. There is a real lack of transparency regarding the power and influence online tech giants have — one that poses a true threat to internet freedom.
Unfortunately, the Save the Internet does nothing to address this problem, and that is a missed opportunity. If Congress is going to pass legislation purported to ensure net neutrality, then these rules and consumer protections should apply to all players operating within the internet ecosystem and must protect consumers against anti-competitive behavior by all companies. Instead, this misguided legislation would revive antiquated, utility-style regulations designed in the 1930s to govern the future of the 21st century internet.
Under President Obama’s Federal Communications Commission, we already saw how these outdated rules create risks and uncertainty in the marketplace, sapping investment and innovation. Mainers — and truly all Americans — deserve a more thoughtful, comprehensive solution to keep the internet a free and open place while preserving the investment we need to continue expanding and enhancing high-speed internet nationwide. Congress should scrap the Save the Internet Act and come together to pass a truly bipartisan solution designed for the internet as we know and use it today.
Andre Cushing III has served almost ten years in the Maine Legislature, five of these years he served in leadership. During his last term he was a member of the Joint Standing Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology. He currently is a County Commissioner for Penobscot County. He has been a small business owner for over forty years and currently is a licensed associate broker in real estate. He and his wife reside in Central Maine.
