Ensign: Internet Regulation WIll Stifle Growth In Broadband

Press Release

Senator John Ensign, a senior member of the Senate Commerce Committee and the ranking member of its Communications Subcommittee, today commented on news reports that FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has decided to impose stricter regulation on the Internet under Title II of the Communications Act.

"I am extremely disappointed that Chairman Genachowski has chosen to go down this path as re-regulating the Internet under outdated monopoly telephone rules is a major mistake," said Ensign. "Using this heavy-handed approach to regulation under Title II will jeopardize private investment and innovation in broadband and inject regulatory uncertainty throughout the entire Internet. Internet companies, broadband providers, and consumers will all suffer from such uncertainty. The government has taken over a lot of industries just this year, and the last thing that our economy needs right now is for the government to take over the Internet, too."

Senator Ensign has been a vocal opponent of regulating the Internet under Title II and shared his concerns with FCC Chairman Genachowski earlier this year at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing.

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