Tom Wheeler, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, added further nuance to his already ambiguous position on network neutrality with a blog post late Tuesday, saying again that the F.C.C. will vigorously — but cautiously — exercise its authority to make sure broadband providers operate their networks in the public interest.
Also, the government is not going to take over the Internet.
As he has before, Mr. Wheeler sought to soothe the nerves of both those who want strict net neutrality — the kind a federal appeals court struck down Tuesday — and a let-us-do-what-we-want approach by network operators.
He stressed that the commission “is not going to do anything that gratuitously interferes with the organic evolution of the Internet in response to developments in technology, business models and consumer behavior.” Nor will it abandon its responsibility to protect an open Internet.
Do not be anxious about the uncertainty that seems to encompass those statements, he said. That anxiety stems from two concerns, he explained: “First, that network operators will take measures, mostly for economic reasons but perhaps also for ideological reasons, that will cut off or diminish the value of the Internet. Second, that the F.C.C. will intrude on the activities of network operators in ways that will damage them economically with injury to them and to their ability to offer more and improved service.”
Neither will be allowed, Mr. Wheeler said. He plans to take a common law approach, based on the facts of any “material, not a trivial” individual case where a company has taken action or a consumer has a complaint.
“It is important not to prohibit or inhibit conduct that is efficiency producing and competition enhancing,” Mr. Wheeler said. “It also is important not to permit conduct that reduces efficiency, competition and utility, including the values that go beyond the material.”
Clear now?