Business groups will seek to overturn vote

The Federal Communications Commission approved new rules Thursday requiring Internet providers to treat all content equally, but the business groups that oppose them are promising to take the fight to Congress.

The commission voted 3-2 in favor of the net neutrality rules backed by both the Obama administration and many Web-based businesses. The rules would prevent Internet providers from blocking access to certain sites or charging businesses extra to have their content streamed along so-called "fast lanes" to customers.

One of the most widely circulated photos from the meeting showed FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler holding hands with the commission's two Democratic members before the vote. But Wheeler, the former CEO of both the National Cable & Telecommunications Association and CTIA-The Wireless Association, likely would get the cold shoulder from both groups, which were among the most vocal opponents of the new rules.

"Today, the FCC took one of the most regulatory steps in its history," NCTA CEO Michael Powell said. "It began regulating the Internet, abruptly abandoning a bipartisan national commitment to limited government involvement that has reigned for decades."

Many observers predict the rules will be challenged in court, as have past attempts at net neutrality. For now, opponents are looking to a Republican-led Congress to adopt its own version of net neutrality in a bill favored by Internet providers.

"The economic and legal uncertainty that will inevitably follow from the FCC's unilateral action underscores the importance of, and urgent need for, bipartisan Congressional action that can end the net neutrality debate and allow our country's mobile ecosystem to focus on what it does best—innovating, investing and empowering Americans' mobile connected lives," CTIA CEO Meredith Attwell Baker said.

Other business groups were quick to condemn the FCC vote. Business Roundtable CEO John Engler said his members were disappointed with the commission's decision "to impose Depression-era regulations on the Internet." U.S. Chamber of Commerce CEO Tom Donohue called the rules "a bad solution to a problem that doesn't exist."

The new rules are backed by many Web-based businesses, like Google and Netflix. But it would be a mistake to think they enjoy support among the tech industry as a whole, as many tech associations issued statements critical of the commission's actions.

"With this vote, the commission has instead placed regulatory shackles and new legal risks on the Internet and those who use this technological marvel to create critical new services, products and jobs," Consumer Electronics Association CEO Gary Shapiro said. "The end result for consumers: less choice, higher costs and reduced innovation."

Not all associations responded negatively to the decision. Michael Beckerman, CEO of the Internet Association, called the decision "a welcome step in our effort to create strong, enforceable net neutrality rules that apply to both mobile and fixed broadband—banning paid prioritization, blocking and discrimination online."

Praise also came from Ed Black, CEO of the Computer & Communications Industry Association, who said the vote marked "a historic day."

"These long-awaited Open Internet protections are cause for celebration for all Internet users from students to businesses," he said. "When so much depends on nondiscriminatory access to the Internet, the FCC is right to impose narrow rules using strong legal grounds like it did today."