106^th Congress Unleashes Internet Legislation

Scores of US legislators are busy concocting laws to save us, and the Internet, from—and for—just about everything.

by Patricia Fusco ISP-Planet Managing Editor [August 31, 1999]

The U.S. Congress has been busy since the first of the year attempting to formulate e-legislation, that upon review, could establish some frightening regulatory concepts.

In this time, representatives from across the nation have initiated nearly 50 congressional actions designed to expand our online choices, protect our privacy, save our children from pornography, and eradicate unsolicited e-mail.

With Congress currently in recess, it seems like a good time to review how our tax dollars have been put to work so far this year. In order to help clarify the puzzling panoply of e-bills pending on Capitol Hill, we will scrutinize several specific concepts under legislative review.

Gotta be free
The abstract notion of freedom is a perennial favorite among topics of discourse in D.C. Freedom of all kinds is, of course, a fundamental privilege of our democratic society. Congress's prescription for maintaining America's online freedom: guaranteed consumer choice.

Sponsored by Senator John McCain, the Internet Regulatory Freedom Act of 1999 was introduced in May. Through an amendment to the Communications Act of 1934, McCain seeks to eliminate Federal Communications Commission regulations impeding the competitive deployment of advanced broadband data networks.

The bill appears to be a congressional reaction to the February 1999 FCC ruling that held Internet traffic to be interstate in nature. This, of course, engendered nightmare visions among Netizens that our beloved access would suddenly be saddled with per-minute charges, just like long-distance voice traffic, and thus be priced out of reach for the average American home, hearth, and surfer.

McCain introduced the initiative to vanquish consumer angst—well after FCC Chairman William E. Kennard reassured the American public that no new metered access fees would be instituted as the result of the commission's decision.

Should the McCain bill become law, official U.S. policy would guarantee all Americans equilateral access to advanced Internet services at affordable rates. All citizens would doubtless cherish their unequivocal right to receive SPAM and download porn as quickly as advanced technology permits.

Gotta be fair
Also a May inductee, the Internet Freedom Act, as sponsored by Representative Bob Goodlatte, seeks to ensure that the Internet remain open to fair competition, free from government regulation, and accessible to American consumers.

Should the bill become law, it would be illegal for broadband access providers to engage in unfair methods of competition or deceptive acts in providing such services. In addition to fair-play marketplace safeguards, this bill would also make it a federal offense to lie on your privacy policy in order sell e-mail addresses collected at your web site.

Let's consider part one of this initiative for a moment… The House wants AT&T, MCI, Sprint, USWest, Bell Atlantic, GTE and Excite@Home, et.al. , to play fairly with American consumers? The companies that brought us slamming, jamming, and cramming have to learn how to market broadband services within the lines of the law? This must be the perennial favorite of the

Unfair competition—the foundation of business success—is the fuel that's driving our revved-up US economy to new heights. Without titans of telecom, such as AT&T, AOL, and Microsoft, who would competitive communications companies have to chase? Why not let laissez-faire work for consumers and commodities alike and have big-telecom and big-cable constituents gut this bill before you can say "federal offense."

As to the second part of the Internet Freedom Act, privacy issues have been a very hot topic on The Hill. We will take an in-depth look the seven Congressional acts that tackle protecting your online privacy, next week.

Gotta be connected
Which brings us to the Internet Freedom and Broadband Deployment Act of 1999. Representative Billy Tauzin has proposed an ambitious legislative effort that would provide market incentives for companies deploying advanced telecommunications services. Known as "un-regulation," this is where businesses lets Congress hold their finances hostage before further deployment of broadband services until a tax credit or federal funding is doled out.

By encouraging deployment The House intends to secure the American consumer's unalienable right of selecting his/her own Internet service provider. Feel free to e-mail your sentiments to Rep. Tauzin at his Billy@AOL address—just as you can communicate with 18 million other Americans that have made American Online their provider of choice.

Next up we have the Consumer and Community Choice in Access Act of 1999, introduced in July by Representative Earl Blumenauer. No, Blumenauer did not sleep through Tauzin's proposal. This legislative action includes provisions requiring that cable networks provide nondiscriminatory access to their facilities through leasing arrangements.

This bill is popular with OpenNet Coalition members and Internet Ventures, Inc. proponents, alike. If successful, it could do what the FCC won't: mandate nondiscriminatory access to cable networks through existing laws.

Gotta be law
Reviewing the potential options, our freedom to choose a broadband service provider may be de-regulated by McCain, dis-regulated by Godlatte, un-regulated by Tauzin or re-regulated by Blumenaur.

If none of these options rejuvenates your feeling of online freedom, why not ask Congress to follow a strict legislative diet of laissez-faire instead? Let the people do as they choose without any governmental interference in the Internet connectivity economy of scale. It's a simple concept and a bulwark of capitalism . . . But I suppose it would take Act of Congress to make it so.

—End

Next Week—What Congress is doing to protect your online privacy.