Tom Wheeler’s proposal, which isn’t final, already has sparked a firestorm of criticism. Net neutrality pressure mounts

Another FCC commissioner called for a delay of the agency’s fast-approaching net neutrality vote, while top Internet companies and venture capitalists took even more shots Thursday at Chairman Tom Wheeler’s controversial plan.

Wheeler’s proposal, which isn’t final, already has sparked a firestorm of criticism because it could allow Internet service providers like AT&T and Verizon to charge companies for faster delivery of their content.


Inside the FCC, GOP Commissioner Ajit Pai on Thursday said he had “grave concerns about the chairman’s proposal.” Pai, like most Republicans, never has backed strong FCC net neutrality rules — but his statement put him in the company of Democratic Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, a vocal supporter of open Internet protections who also asked Wheeler to push the vote back.

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Meanwhile, Silicon Valley’s top investors took aim: In a letter to the FCC, more than 50 venture capitalists expressed deep misgivings about the creation of an Internet “fast lane,” which they said many start-ups and entrepreneurs could never afford to access.

“Start-ups with applications that are advantaged by speed (such as games, video, or payment systems) will be unlikely to overcome that deficit no matter how innovative their service,” wrote the group, which included Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures, Naval Ravikant of AngelList and Ron Conway of SV Angel.

That approach would not “provide the necessary certainty that we need to make investment decisions and that these rules will stifle innovation in the Internet sector,” they added.

The FCC only plans next week to vote on an order that opens the debate — not the actual, final rules. Still, the politics already seem precarious for Wheeler. His fellow Democrats, Rosenworcel and Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, are strong net neutrality backers. Along with Rosenworcel’s call for a delay, Clyburn on Wednesday reaffirmed her opposition to “pay for priority arrangements.”

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Pai’s GOP colleague, Commissioner Michael O’Rielly, never has been a fan. He separately criticized such regulation in an interview for C-SPAN’s “The Communicators” to air this weekend.

For now, Wheeler has pledged to forge ahead with his May 15 vote, though the commission announced Thursday it would waive its traditional sunshine period. That means companies and consumers can continue to weigh in on the matter with the FCC in the week leading up to the open meeting.

Still, Wheeler’s approach only has prompted consumer groups, tech companies and their top investors to intensify their opposition.

Free Press is trying to rally a grass-roots movement, with the aim of protesting outside the FCC during its upcoming meeting. Along with other consumer groups, it launched a new website Thursday in a bid to coordinate its so-called day of action.

( Also on POLITICO: FCC’s Wheeler facing net neutrality revolt)

“Chairman Wheeler’s pay-for-play proposal has catalyzed a nationwide movement to safeguard the open Internet,” said Free Press Campaign Director Josh Levy.

Some companies, meanwhile, have taken their dissatisfaction directly to the FCC. Leaders from Tumblr, Kickstarter and others met with FCC officials on Friday to reject any plan that would create “paid fast lanes and unpaid slow lanes,” according to newly filed disclosures with the agency.

Brad Burnham, a top venture capitalist with Union Square Ventures, aired similar criticisms with the FCC at the end of April, according to records filed with the agency Wednesday. His firm, for its part, is an early investor in Twitter, Zynga, Tumblr, Kickstarter and more. He later joined the venture capitalists who opposed Wheeler’s proposal on Thursday.

And the most well-stocked tech players in Washington — including Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and Yahoo — banded together this week with small- and medium-size tech companies. Together, their letter sent Wednesday portrayed Wheeler’s plan as a “grave threat” to the Internet.

“Instead of permitting individualized bargaining and discrimination,” they wrote, “the Commission’s rules should protect users and Internet companies on both fixed and mobile platforms against blocking, discrimination, and paid prioritization, and should make the market for Internet services more transparent.”

Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter and Yahoo either declined or did not comment for this story. And few of the companies on the tech industry’s group missive Wednesday offered much of an alternative to Wheeler’s plan. Etsy, by contrast, is only one of a few companies to call on the FCC to subject Internet providers to the same tough rules that already apply to phone companies.

The strongest open Internet advocates said they aren’t worried about any early divisions among their ranks. In the letter, companies stood behind “no blocking, no discrimination, [and rules] applicable to wireless as well as wired,” said Chris Riley, senior policy engineer at Mozilla. He added it’s “impressive” so many companies, large and small, were willing “to say this is where we want to go on net neutrality.”

Mozilla has proposed its own approach that might apply tougher telecommunications regulation only in select cases. The company has petitioned the FCC to include its plan as part of the May 15 vote. Riley, though, said he hasn’t “gotten a full sense from [the agency] on how they plan to move forward.”

“A delay would be unnecessary if we have a strong enough [notice of proposed rulemaking],” said Marvin Ammori, a top net neutrality advocate who sits on the board of Engine Advocacy. His group worked closely with New York and California-based tech companies and investors on the Wednesday letter, and he also assisted with some companies’ previous FCC meetings.

At such an early stage of the debate, Ammori said, it’s more important the proposal “asks the right questions” — putting Wheeler’s plan and alternatives on equal footing out there for public comment.