House Antitrust Aims to Continue Pursuing Net Neutrality, With House Commerce GOP's OK

House Antitrust's goal in returning to net neutrality issues now is to ensure “there are no antitrust issues out there” and to ensure consumers are getting “the best service at the best price,” Chairman Tom Marino, R-Pa., told us. “I'd like to have another hearing or two and really hear what customers and the providers have to say” about whether antitrust-specific net neutrality legislation is needed. “Once we get all of that info” the subcommittee can determine whether and how to move ahead, Marino said.

House Antitrust ranking member David Cicilline, D-R.I., said he remains focused on maintaining the FCC's role as the primary net neutrality arbiter given his view that the commission shouldn't follow through with its expected rescission of its 2015 rules and related reclassification of broadband as a Communications Act Title II service. Congressional Democrats largely resisted GOP efforts this year on net neutrality legislation amid expectations there will be a legal challenge to the FCC's likely reversal of the 2015 rules (see 1707130063).

House Commerce Committee GOP leaders told us they aren't opposed to House Antitrust pursuing its angle on net neutrality. “I'm fine with that,” said Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore. Goodlatte “and I talked before that hearing was ever scheduled.” Walden announced his plan in July for his panel to hold a hearing to kick-start work on compromise net neutrality legislation, but that process has been seen as largely stalled in the months since (see 1707250059, 1707310066, 1708070068 and 1708300050). Goodlatte “knows his jurisdiction and I know mine, so I don't think we're going to cross” those boundaries, Walden said.

Parallel House Judiciary debate about the antitrust aspects of net neutrality is “a fine conversation to have,” though comfort with committee action on that issue “depends upon where they're headed” given House Commerce's continued pursuit of its own legislation, Walden said. House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., separately emphasized House Commerce is still “working on” net neutrality and said “we're going to move forward with that.” But “we look forward to hearing what [Goodlatte] has in mind,” she said.

Communications sector lobbyists and observers said they'll be monitoring how House Antitrust moves forward on net neutrality but noted it's unclear what the next steps are. The rules for FCC and FTC jurisdiction on net neutrality post-FCC rescission of its 2015 rules “could be good grist for further hearings” but “we've been having this debate for a while now,” said Doug Brake, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation senior telecom policy analyst. “At this point I would prefer action over conversation” since “we probably have a good grasp of the contours of options going forward.” House Judiciary “has a habit of reaching for other issues and having hearings about them, and then who knows if they take action after that,” a tech sector lobbyist said. “I think it's curious that they had this hearing at this point given they just had a hearing on this” in 2015 (see 1505150030).

House Antitrust Republicans didn't discount the possibility of pursuing other tech and telecom-related antitrust issues during this Congress, though they didn't list specific areas of interest. “Every company, whether they're large or small, should be following the same set of laws,” Marino told us. “Just because you're a big corporation doesn't mean you're evil, but everyone must play by the same rules.” Cicilline noted his calls for House Antitrust scrutiny of Sinclair's proposed purchase of Tribune, Amazon's now-completed purchase of Whole Foods and other issues.

Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., told us he believes House Antitrust's net neutrality hearing “was a good start” but noted interest in looking at other tech issues in the future. He cited the trio of hearings last week on online ad transparency from the Senate Judiciary, Senate Intelligence and House Intelligence committees as evidence that internet companies' business practices are “definitely something to look at.” But any House Judiciary action on those issues “is up to” Goodlatte and Marino, Collins said.

Several industry lobbyists noted speculation about an amplified House Judiciary interest in tech and telecom issues beyond net neutrality, particularly on issues that House Commerce Republicans have been unwilling to pursue this Congress. “You're seeing that come out now on net neutrality” and there are also calls from Cicilline and other Democrats for scrutiny of Sinclair/Tribune, though House Judiciary Republicans are unlikely to allow a hearing on the controversial deal, said one communications sector lobbyist.

Collins is also “interested in getting them more involved” on tech antitrust issues, in part because he may be looking to become a contender to replace Goodlatte as House Judiciary chairman when Goodlatte's tenure ends at the close of this Congress, a communications sector lobbyist said. “It's no secret that the big internet companies are going to be facing more scrutiny going forward, not just from Republicans but also from some on the Democratic side of the aisle,” as evidenced by the online ad transparency conversation, a GOP telecom lobbyist said. A tech lobbyist pointed to the temporary deactivation Thursday night of President Donald Trump's Twitter account as a possible “flashpoint” for Trump-friendly lawmakers to scrutinize social media platforms' practices (see 1711030062).