Sen. Steve Daines led a bipartisan group of lawmakers asking the FCC to exempt small businesses from certain net neutrality regulations.
“Without commission action, small businesses soon face regulatory uncertainty and will potentially be subject to burdensome requirements,” Daines wrote today in a letter, which is also signed by Sens. Joe Manchin, Heidi Heitkamp, Jim Risch and Dan Sullivan and Reps. Greg Walden, Dave Loebsack and Bob Latta. “When the commission adopted this exemption, it acknowledged that requiring small businesses with limited resources to comply with the complex disclosure requirements would have been particularly burdensome.”
The FCC’s “enhanced transparency requirements,” part of the 2015 Open Internet Order, require internet service providers to offer information about their network performance, a requirement that could be costly. The current exemption for small businesses expires Dec. 15.
Small business, cable and wireless groups all support the exemption. The House passed and the Senate introduced legislation that would expand the definition of small business and extend the exemption. Congress has adjourned for the year, meaning a legislative change would have to start over in the next Congress.