Comcast is looking to take things up a notch in their fight against net neutrality. The company met with Federal Communications Commissions Chairman Ajit Pai’s staff this week to discuss how to cripple states and their power to enforce net neutrality.
The company wants to make it so that states don’t have the power to enforce net neutrality rules. FCC is preparing to gut net neutrality rules, broadband providers are now worried that states might take it upon themselves, enacting laws to force companies from throttling, blocking, or discriminating against online experience.
In an ex parte filing, Comcast describes that Senior VP Frank Buono and Comcast attorney met with Pai Chief of Staff Matthew Berry and Senior Counsel Nicolas Degani on Monday. Comcast is constantly making an effort, more so this time around, to Pai’s staff to reverse FCC’s classification of broadband as a Title II common carrier service. If this classification is reversed, FCC’s legal authority would be eliminated that enforces net neutrality rules.
Not only does Comcast want FCC to reverse classification but also take things a step further. The company wants to make it so that states cannot impose their own regulations on broadband, making a clear path for the company to do whatever it wants, however it wants, and whenever it wants. Pretty much taking regulation out of the question when it comes to net neutrality.
Here’s what the filing said:
We also emphasized that the Commission’s order in this proceeding should include a clear, affirmative ruling that expressly confirms the primacy of federal law with respect to BIAS [Broadband Internet Access Service] as an interstate information service, and that preempts state and local efforts to regulate BIAS either directly or indirectly.
Even though Comcast said it wants the FCC to abandon the legal authority it has over enforcing net neutrality rules, the company revisits its stance by saying that it supports “a free and open internet” and “legally enforceable net neutrality protections.”
