E&C Subcommittee Schedules Broadband Privacy Hearing

The House Energy & Commerce Committee's Republican leadership has scheduled a hearing on the FCC's broadband privacy framework for June 14 and the title leaves no doubt where they stand: "FCC Overreach: Examining the Proposed Privacy Rules."

Actually, there was already no doubt where they stood after a letter they sent the chairman last week saying it was the wrong approach.

Related: FCC Opens Doors on New Comment Filing System

"When the FCC overreaches, it’s normally bad news for consumers and the economy,” said Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-Ore.). “Consumers deserve to be protected and the FCC’s privacy approach simply misses the mark. Next week’s hearing will provide the opportunity to examine the consequences of the FCC’s proposal to regulate ISPs under separate privacy rules from the rest of the internet."

No word on witnesses. 

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.