Seeking to head off regulation of the Internet, three House members on Wednesday introduced a bill to keep government out of the business of overseeing Net rates, charges, practices, classifications, facilities, or services.
The Internet Protection Act, offered by GOP Representatives Rick White of Washington and Billy Tauzin of Louisiana and Democrat Rick Boucher of Virginia, would allow the Federal Communications Commission to continue to oversee network reliability and let states regulate local telcos offering Net services.
"The Internet has flourished because politicians and bureaucrats haven't mucked it up yet, and we have to make sure that doesn't happen," Tauzin aide Ken Johnson said.
The bill would still allow the FCC to regulate network reliability, and Baby Bells offering local Net service would still be regulated by the states.
Johnson said the bill is a companion to the Internet Tax Freedom Act, introduced in the House by Chris Cox (R-California) and in the Senate by Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), that would ban local authorities from slapping more taxes on the Net, and would place an indefinite moratorium on Net taxation by the federal government.
"The unregulated growth of the Internet should be our new measure for creating more competitive markets," White said in a statement.
