WASHINGTON — Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin said Tuesday his agency has all the authority it needs to prevent Internet service providers from discriminating against Web surfers and that new legislation is unnecessary.
“I do not believe any additional regulations are needed at this time,” Martin said at a hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee. “But I also believe that the commission has a responsibility to enforce the principles that it has already adopted.”
The FCC has conducted two hearings on “network management” following admissions by Comcast Corp. that it sometimes delayed file-sharing traffic for subscribers as a way to keep Web traffic flowing.
The hearing was called at a time when the issue of “network neutrality” — the principle that people should be able to go where they choose on the Internet without interference from network owners — has heated up.
The network-neutrality debate has divided Congress, with Democrats largely in favor and Republicans mostly opposed, a point that became clearer at Tuesday’s committee meeting.
“It is a political division now, and it’s getting more so,” said Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska. “It is unfortunate.”
He said a return to “intense regulation” of the Internet is “entirely unwarranted.”
The hearing included some star power, with the appearance of actress Justine Bateman, best known for her role on the TV sitcom “Family Ties.” Bateman is a founding partner of a new online media venture.
“The idea of your site succeeding or failing based upon whether or not you paid the telecom companies enough to carry your material or allow quick access is appalling,” she told the committee.
Also speaking for a free- flowing Internet was Patric Verrone, the president of the Writers Guild of America, West, which recently ended a 100-day strike that virtually paralyzed television production. The Internet was a valuable organizing tool for the writers, he said in an interview.
“When your employers are the same companies that control the media, it’s hard to get your message out,” he said.
