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Internet providers need the freedom to block and throttle Internet traffic.

US Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) this week filed legislation she calls the "Internet Freedom Act" to overturn the Federal Communications Commission's new network neutrality rules.

The FCC's neutrality rules prohibit Internet service providers from blocking or throttling Internet traffic, prohibit prioritization of traffic in exchange for payment, and require the ISPs to disclose network management practices.

These rules "shall have no force or effect, and the Commission may not reissue such rule in substantially the same form, or issue a new rule that is substantially the same as such rule, unless the reissued or new rule is specifically authorized by a law enacted after the date of the enactment of this Act," the Internet Freedom Act states.

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REPUBLICANS IN CONGRESS ALREADY TRYING TO OVERTURN FCC’S LATEST VOTES
Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon are a bit miffed too.
The legislation has 31 Republican cosponsors.

“Once the federal government establishes a foothold into managing how Internet service providers run their networks they will essentially be deciding which content goes first, second, third, or not at all," Blackburn said in an announcement yesterday. "My legislation will put the brakes on this FCC overreach and protect our innovators from these job-killing regulations.”

In the latest election cycle, Blackburn received $25,000 from an AT&T political action committee (PAC), $20,000 from a Comcast PAC, $20,000 from a cable industry association PAC, and $15,000 from a Verizon PAC, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Blackburn's legislation would also wipe out the FCC's decision to reclassify broadband as a common carrier service subject to some of the Title II obligations imposed on wireline telephone and mobile voice. But while Internet providers and some Republicans have claimed to support net neutrality rules while opposing Title II reclassification, this bill would not leave any network neutrality rules in place. That's not surprising, given that Blackburn has been trying to get rid of net neutrality rules for years.

Over the past year, Internet providers and Republicans have claimed that they are willing to accept the FCC enforcing net neutrality rules without a Title II classification, even though the FCC did just that in 2010 and still faced a lawsuit from Verizon. (Verizon won that lawsuit a year ago, forcing the FCC to reconsider how its net neutrality rules should be justified legally.) One Republican effort announced in January would enforce a version of net neutrality while gutting the FCC's authority under Title II and Section 706, the latter of which was used by the FCC to preempt state laws that restrict municipal broadband projects. (Blackburn also filed legislation last week to overturn the municipal broadband decision.)

Blackburn's Internet Freedom Act wouldn't even enforce a weaker version of net neutrality, consistent with her past proposals. In 2011, she filed an "Internet Freedom Act" that would have struck down the FCC's original net neutrality rules that were enforced without a Title II reclassification.

In February 2014, long before FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler decided to use Title II, Blackburn introduced another "Internet Freedom Act" that would have prohibited the FCC from issuing any new net neutrality rules.

Blackburn's announcement yesterday notes that she "has been leading the fight against the Obama Administration’s Net Neutrality regulations since they were first proposed in 2010 by Former Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski." Blackburn is Vice Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) have discussed legislation to overturn the FCC's vote while keeping some version of net neutrality in place, but they haven't finalized a bill yet.
"We don't really have a Walden bill yet," said Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.), who cosponsored Blackburn's legislation, Politico reported today. The Upton/Thune bill is "just theoretical," but the Blackburn bill at least has "some language to address what we think is a problem," Shimkus said.

Upton, the House Energy & Commerce Chairman, told Politico that “there are a lot of people who want a strong expression of opposition to the FCC’s actions, and I expect [the Blackburn bill] will be one of many opportunities to weigh in."

The full text of the FCC's net neutrality rules has not yet been finalized. They will take effect 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. FCC General Counsel Jon Sallet described the process in a blog post Monday.

FCC ready to defend rules in court

Wheeler is expecting lawsuits, but he believes the commission's latest rules rest on strong legal authority. The appeals court decision that overturned previous net neutrality rules faulted the FCC for imposing per se common carrier obligations without classifying Internet providers as common carriers. Classifying them as such "addresses that issue," Wheeler said last week.

Internet providers that today claim they would be happy with net neutrality rules that don't rely on Title II are said to be "furious" with Verizon for challenging a weaker set of rules, allowing them to be replaced with stronger ones. AT&T hinted at that displeasure in a blog post that called the 2010 rules "a bipartisan win."

Back in 2010, AT&T said it preferred to avoid "government intervention" but also praised then FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski "for seeking a fair middle ground." At the time, AT&T said, "Today’s vote, we trust, will put this issue behind us." But thanks to Verizon's intervention, and legislation like Blackburn's latest Internet Freedom Act, the net neutrality debate is far from over.