Academic, author and network neutrality rule skeptic Christopher Yoo tells B&C/MultiChannel News that he is not a candidate for the FCC Republican seat being vacated by Robert McDowell, at least not now.
Sources had said that Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who is vetting candidates for the post, was looking at academics, and one source said Yoo's name had surfaced as one of those. Yoo confirmed there had been interest.
He has written in defense of prioritization of network traffic as a central feature of network architecture and testified that networks and content providers are symbiotic and that while there is a small potential for anti-competitive behavior, it should be addressed on a case-by-case basis rather than with broad regulation.
But in an e-mail Wednesday, Yoo indicated he was flattered but not interested, at least not for the moment.
"Others have suggested my name," he wrote. "[W]hile I am flattered, I have asked McConnell's staff not to consider me for a position as FCC Commissioner at this time."
Among the names still said to be in the hunt for the seat are Michael O'Reilly, a top staffer with Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), and Ray Baum, former Oregon Public Utility Commission chairman and current top adviser to House Communications Subcommittee chair Greg Walden (R-Ore.).
