White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer made clear Thursday (March 30) that the president would be signing the Congressional Review Act resolution invalidating the FCC's broadband privacy regs when it reached his desk, calling them unfair and a case of regulatory arbitrage.
"The White House supports Congress using its authority under the Congressional Review Act to roll back last year’s FCC rules on broadband regulation," Spicer said in comments before the daily press briefing.
"The previous administration, in an attempt to treat Internet service providers differently than edge providers, such as Google and Facebook, reclassified them as common carriers -- much like a hotel or another retail outlet -- and opened the door to an unfair regulatory framework," he said. "This will allow all service providers to be treated fairly, and consumer protection and privacy concerns to be reviewed on an equal playing field.
"The president pledged to reverse this type of federal overreach in which bureaucrats in Washington take the interests of one group of companies over the interests of others, picking winners and losers," Spicer continued. "The President has signed more legislation under the Congressional Review Act, ending job-killing rules and regulations than all previous presidents combined already, and he will continue to fight Washington red tape that stifles American innovation, job creation and economic growth."
The Senate passed the resolution March 23; the House passed it March 28.
