Net Neutrality: a Response to Representative Anna Eshoo

By Mike Montgomery, Executive Director of CALinnovates

Representative Anna Eshoo (D-Palo Alto) got it right when she wrote about the importance of Net Neutrality to the next generation in an op-ed published in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Millennials already live their lives online. If business or the government makes it more difficult for those young people to have clear access to all parts of the Internet, it will only further isolate them from the processes of government. Already, as Eshoo points out, roughly half of Millennials don’t identify with any political party. Take away Net Neutrality and it sends the strong message that government doesn’t share Millennials’ priorities. That would only push the next generation father away.

And while I agree with Rep. Eshoo’s assessment that an Internet without fast lanes is essential to the future, she is missing a critical point about the future of the open Internet.

She references the many lawsuits queued up to challenge the new regulations and the attacks from some Members of Congress who oppose Net Neutrality (or more specifically Title II authority). But she doesn’t really propose a solution.

I have one. Congress needs to affirmatively enshrine Net Neutrality into law. Only by making Net Neutrality the law of the land can the government hope to maintain the Internet as “the route to learning, employment and advancement.”

Eshoo writes: “If we continue to treat Net Neutrality like a political ping-pong ball, then we demonstrate that [Millennials’] skepticism is justified and our democracy will be the poorer for it.” She’s right. So let’s stop treating it like a ping-pong ball and make it law.

Without Congressional legislation, the open Internet is at the whim of an FCC that could change dramatically in as little as two years. If, but more likely when, the next President decides to appoint a new FCC Chairman, the Commission could undo everything — or, just as dangerously extend some of the most onerous rules far and wide. A newly configured Commission could even vote to change the rule around Net Neutrality to allow for fast lanes and paid prioritization.

Businesses know this and that’s why many tech entrepreneurs are increasingly nervous about the future of Net Neutrality and Title II. Uncertainty creates hurdles to long-term planning, investment and hiring decisions as well as fundraising.

If Rep. Eshoo and her colleagues are serious about Net Neutrality, it’s time they did something about it.