Earlier today, the chairmen of the Senate and House Commerce Committees, Sen. John Rockefeller (D-WV) and Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) and of the respective communications subcommittees, Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) and Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA) said they would “start a process to develop proposals to update the Communications Act.”
Announcement is here.
The following statement is attributed to Gigi B. Sohn, president and co-founder of Public Knowledge:
“We are very pleased to see this expression of Congressional interest in updating the Communications Act. The world has changed considerably since 1996, and Congress should be looking at how the law should accommodate today’s technology and marketplace. We look forward to participating in this process.
“At the same time, because this appears to be the start of a long process, we believe, as do Chairmen Rockefeller and Waxman, that the Federal Communications Commission has the authority to carry out its plan to set some rules of the road for the Internet, protecting consumers and encouraging innovation and economic activity online.”
The May 5 letter from Waxman and Rockfeller to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski saying that the FCC should use “all viable options” to protect consumers and the digital economy is here.
Members of the media may contact Communications Director Shiva Stella with inquiries, interview requests, or to join the Public Knowledge press list at shiva@publicknowledge.org or 405-249-9435.