Net Neutrality Fight Moot, Real Issue Tech Company Regulation, NCTA's Powell Says
Tech giants need to be more heavily regulated, said NCTA CEO Michael Powell. "Governments can no longer coddle and cater" to such large and heavily influential companies, he said Tuesday at Cable Congress 2018 in Dublin, according to prepared remarks. He touched on fake news, tech addiction, consumer concerns about privacy and other tech criticisms increasing coming to the fore in Washington (see 1803050040). Critics cast the comments as the cable ISP industry trying to shift regulatory focus away from itself.
Powell's speech is like other calls for a regulatory framework covering ISPs and tech companies equally, such as AT&T's proposed Internet Bill of Rights (see 1801240047) and House Communications Chairman Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., pushing for privacy regulatory parity of both ISPs and edge companies, said Larry Downes, Georgetown University School of Business senior industry and innovation fellow. He said heavily regulated network operators are increasingly trying to move into far-less-regulated areas of business such as where over-the-top distribution and content sides of the communicators industry converge. There have been periodic proposals in Congress for clearing the decks of legacy rules, and the Aspen Institute echoed that in a report last week proposing a "clean slate" approach to media rules, given the rise of OTT, Downes said. But ISPs recognize they aren't going to get free of those legacy rules anytime soon, and are advocating that tech company rivals should be more heavily regulated as a means of parity, he said.
American Cable Association President Matt Polka "wholeheartedly agree[s]" with Powell on the harms posed by edge providers and tech companies. "The real harm to Internet users will not come from ISPs, but rather from these big tech companies that use, monetize and abuse consumers’ private data, not to mention, block and discriminate against internet usage, access and speech," he emailed, noting ACA members backed "open internet” principles while edge providers are often in the news about denying access to competitors or favoring affiliated content and applications. "The answer is legislation that embraces the open internet principles on both sides of the internet pipe," he said.
ISPs are "getting away with digital murder" in areas like violation of consumer privacy, and both they and leading digital platforms need tighter regulation, said Center for Digital Democracy Executive Director Jeff Chester. He said the cable industry is "deluding" itself if cable ISPs think they can shift blame for privacy and open internet issues or change the focus of consumer ire. "People who live in glass digital houses shouldn't throw stones," he said, saying Powell seemingly is trying to take advantage of increased political scrutiny of edge providers and increased privacy concerns from European lawmakers. Chester said it's likely that over time, there will be increased regulatory oversight of both digital platforms and legacy media and telecom operators.
"Internet services already have significant responsibilities, which they take very seriously," emailed Computer and Communications Industry Association Vice President-Law and Policy Matt Schruers. He said such services have "invested heavily" in personnel training and new technology development aimed at online safety and removal of inappropriate content. The industry "recognizes more can be done," he said, citing commitments to employ major numbers of people in content moderation and user safety and security.
The net neutrality debate is largely moot, since broadband providers' businesses depend on "selling an internet that is unimpeded," and regulatory focus needs to be more on tech companies and related issues of privacy, tech addiction, fake news, cybersecurity and market power, Powell said. He said policymakers need to be cognizant of infrastructure and edge providers' interdependency, and that separating the two has resulted in asymmetrical regulation: "Policymakers must enact laws that see these things as one continuously evolving ecosystem."
"We need to reject the do-no-evil fairy tale" and tech companies need to "be brought back down to earth" through more government scrutiny, Powell said. He said the idea tech companies aren't responsible for their platforms and user activity should be rejected. Only tech companies can tackle issues such as sex trafficking, bullying and foreign interference in elections, he said, adding there needs to be "robust regulatory oversight" of them on privacy issues.
Mergers and acquisitions should be scrutinized more rigorously, given how big tech companies have been "buying or crushing" emerging technologies, Powell said. He said cybersecurity issues should get more global attention.