The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was forced to extend the deadline for comments over its controversial plans to change the way it regulates the internet, after its systems were overwhelmed by thousands of new submissions.
By Tuesday afternoon, more than 780,000 comments had been submitted to the regulator over its proposed “open internet” rules that have cable companies, politicians, consumers and activists at loggerheads over the future of the internet.
Thousands more submissions were expected before the planned deadline of midnight Tuesday, as activists and consumer groups rallied supporters to lobby the FCC to moved: protect “net neutrality” - the concept that all traffic on the internet should be treated equally – and stop cable companies setting up high-speed “fast lanes” for some customers.
The FCC, which has struggled to get Congress to fund an upgrade to its antiquated systems, has now extended the deadline to midnight Friday. A second round of comments on the original submissions will then begin, ending in September, with the FCC expected to make its ruling by the end of the year.
“Not surprisingly, we have seen an overwhelming surge in traffic on our website that is making it difficult for many people to file comments through our electronic comment filing system (ECFS). Please be assured that the commission is aware of these issues and is committed to making sure that everyone trying to submit comments will have their views entered into the record,” said FCC spokeswoman Kim Hart.
Amazon, Google, Facebook, Reddit, Twitter and others submitted a joint comment Monday arguing against an FCC proposal that would allow broadband providers to charge websites for faster service as long as the arrangements are "commercially reasonable."
The Internet Association, a lobby group representing dozens of major tech firms, wrote to the FCC arguing the proposal is a direct threat to the concept of net neutrality.
“Segregation of the internet into fast lanes and slow lanes will distort the market, discourage innovation and harm internet users,” said Michael Beckerman, president and CEO of The Internet Association. “The FCC must act to create strong, enforceable net neutrality rules and apply them equally to both wireless and wireline providers.”
But the association stopped short of calling for the internet to be regulated as a utility, a proposal that would give the FCC far greater powers, and which the cable companies are lobbying against fiercely.
Consumer groups including Common Cause, Fight for the Future (FFTF) and Free Press are pushing for that idea, arguing that the internet should be reclassified as a “common carrier” like the telephone system, which would allow the FCC to ban tiered charging.
“The FCC has the power to do that,” said FFTF’s Evan Greer. “At this stage it’s clear that the public want real net neutrality, and that anything short of that is just another example to the undue influence wielded by cable companies in the corridors of power.”
Comcast, Time Warner and their cable rivals argue that tighter regulation would deter investment and likely fail in the courts. The FCC is being forced to redraw its rules after a court defeat narrowed the extent of its regulatory powers.
The National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA) is expected to file its submission later Tuesday. In a blogpost, the lobby group called on the FCC to reject “extreme voices that wrongly suggest that the only acceptable course for the commission to take is to turn back the clock on progress by reclassifying broadband as a title II common carrier service.
“For well over a decade, Democratic and Republican policymakers confronted with the promise of high-speed internet access have embraced a ‘light touch’ regulatory model that has spurred unprecedented levels of investment in our nation’s broadband infrastructure.”
Comments to the FCC received a major boost after comedian John Oliver attacked the proposals last month on his HBO show Last Week Tonight.
“What's being proposed is so egregious that activists and corporations have been forced onto the same side,” said Oliver. He attacked FCC chairman Tom Wheeler, a former cable company lobbyist, saying his appointment was “the equivalent of needing a babysitter and hiring a dingo."
So far, the number of comments the FCC has received on its open internet plans trails well behind the 1.4m comments submitted following Janet Jackson’s notorious “wardrobe malfunction" during the 2004 Super Bowl.