Resolution Rep. Latta to block FCC net neutrality rules

Net neutrality

Latta proposed his resolution the day after the FCC’s net neutrality rules were published in the Federal Register.

WASHINGTON, May 27, 2024 – In what was likely a symbolic gesture, a senior House Republican took the first step last week in trying to stop the implementation of new net neutrality rules adopted in April by the Federal Communications Commission.

Rep. Bob Latta, R-Ohio, introduced a joint resolution on May 23 to repeal net neutrality rules under the Congressional Review Act. Latta is chairman of the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, which oversees FCC activities.

“It is incredible that we are once again debating the FCC’s so-called ‘net neutrality’ order, the repeal of which in 2017 led to lower prices, faster internet speeds and increased investment in broadband networks,” Latta said in a statement.

FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel, a Democrat, said net neutrality rules are necessary to keep the Internet “fast, open and fair.” These rules prohibit ISPs from blocking or throttling lawful content

Latta moved just a day after the net neutrality rules were published in the Federal Register, which gave the parties a 30-day period to take their case to court with the FCC. Unless blocked by the courts, the rules will go into effect on July 22, 2024.

“For now, the industry waits to decide whether the FCC’s reclassification decision and the latest version of the Open Internet Rules will survive or be overturned by the courts, Congress or a future FCC commission,” Cahill attorneys Chérie Kiser and Angela Collins said in a May 22 analysis titled The Walking Dead: “Open Internet” rules again.

Enacted in 1996, the CRA authorizes Congress to override federal regulations by a simple majority of both houses or a two-thirds majority if necessary to override a presidential veto.

It is unlikely that Latta’s resolution will come into force. Since the Senate is controlled by Democrats and President Joe Biden is a strong supporter of net neutrality, Latta’s resolution looks more symbolic than anything else.

In 2017, the Republican-controlled House and Senate, with the approval of President Donald Trump, used the CRA to invalidate the FCC’s broadband privacy regulations, passed the year before under Democratic FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler.

Relying on consent mechanisms, the FCC’s privacy rules required ISPs to protect customer information, including precise geographic location, Social Security numbers and web browsing history. Less sensitive information such as email addresses and broadband service tiers was subject to an opt-out system.

Using CRAs to overturn federal regulations is not subject to judicial review.

In March, 19 Senate Republicans introduced a CRA resolution blocking the FCC’s new digital discrimination rules, which could hold internet service providers liable for unintentional acts of discrimination in the deployment of broadband infrastructure. In January, more than 60 House Republicans introduced an identical CRA resolution.

Neither is expected to pass a divided Congress.