Tech industry analysts declare net neutrality dead in Congress

Tech industry experts say the Republican takeover of the House has sealed the demise of net-neutrality legislation and set the stage for a showdown between the Federal Communications Commission and the GOP.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski remains a strong proponent of net neutrality, which would ban Internet service providers from discriminating between content providers. Genachowski has enough votes on the FCC to move forward with his plan to reclassify broadband as a telecom service and bring it under greater regulation.

Reclassifying broadband, however, is likely to draw the ire of House Republicans, who will control the agency's purse strings when they assume power next year. Many of the Tea Party groups who helped propel the GOP to victory in the election have already voiced their opposition to broadband reclassification, arguing net-neutrality regulations would be a violation of free speech.

Information Technology and Innovation Foundation senior research fellow Richard Bennett said Wednesday there is "essentially no prospect of a net-neutrality bill passing anytime soon." He pointed to the election defeat of almost all of the 95 Democratic candidates who signed a net-neutrality pledge from the Progressive Change Campaign Committee last week.

Election law firm SNR Denton concurred, calling the outlook for tech-related legislation in the next Congress unclear.

"What is apparent is that the prospects for movement of net-neutrality legislation in the next Congress are dim, with 90 of 95 public supporters losing their elections," the firm wrote in a post-election analysis.

According to the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), whose members include Google, Facebook, Oracle and Microsoft, moving any tech legislation through the divided Congress will be challenging, putting the onus on the FCC to take action on net neutrality and media consolidation. 

But the industry group suggested that members sympathetic to the Tea Party may be supportive of efforts to protect consumers' privacy online. Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, already confirmed online privacy legislation will be a priority when the GOP assumes control of the House.

"What will be interesting to see once these candidates get to Washington is what their stance on government interference means for Internet freedom, privacy and government surveillance," the CCIA wrote. "Will proposals to increase government surveillance of domestic phone calls and emails get these Constitutional fundamentalists worked up?"

Bennett argued that while the overall Republican party did better than expected on Tuesday, Tea Party candidates fell short of expectations — particularly Sharron Angle in Nevada. He said the election "put net neutrality on the back burner" while elevating issues such as spectrum allocation, intellectual property protections and online privacy.

"Or so it would appear; these things never turn out exactly as one expects" he added. "Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle are deeply concerned about the economy, the debt, and employment, and a focus on the positives of technology over such negatives as net neutrality ought to help with all these things."