WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today questioned FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and FTC Chairman Joseph Simons at a FSGG subcommittee hearing on the FY19 budget request for the FEC and FCC.

“Yesterday, the Senate voted to restore the FCC's previous net neutrality rule. I voted with the majority, that rule has been challenged in the courts and has been the subject of a great deal of controversy. I think it's important to have a free and open internet, but one that also values innovation and investment and protects consumers. There are four key principles necessary to maintain that fair and open internet, no blocking or throttling, no paid prioritization and full transparency, and if we can find a way together to chart a path that accomplishes those goals I think we will find a way to keep the things that all Americans value about the internet -- access to sites that we choose and giving equal access while still promoting innovation and investment -- and I look forward to a discussion with you, Chairman Pai about these key issues around net neutrality today.”

Audio and video of Senator Coons’ opening statement available here.

Audio and video of Senator Coons’ Q&A available here.

Senator Coons’ opening statement, as delivered, is below: 

Thank you very much, Chairman Lankford, for convening this hearing today. This is the first hearing for the FSGG Subcommittee this year, your first as chairman, and I very much look forward to working with you and your staff. I think we can together find very constructive ways that we can work together in this year's appropriations process and moving forward to make sure we are protecting consumers, spending funds appropriately, and advancing federal missions. I'd like to welcome our witnesses, Chairman Pai and Chairman Simons. As Chairman Lankford just referenced, I want to especially thank you, Chairman Simons, for appearing today since you've been on the job so briefly. We have two new chairmen and hopefully we'll find a constructive path together forward.

You know, both the FCC and FTC have key consumer protection missions and I want to focus briefly on a few of those. Yesterday, the Senate voted to restore the FCC's previous net neutrality rule. I voted with the majority, that rule has been challenged in the courts and has been the subject of a great deal of controversy. I think it's important to have a free and open internet, but one that also values innovation and investment and protects consumers. There are four key principles necessary to maintain that fair and open internet, no blocking or throttling, no paid prioritization and full transparency, and if we can find a way together to chart a path that accomplishes those goals I think we will find a way to keep the things that all Americans value about the internet -- access to sites that we choose and giving equal access while still promoting innovation and investment -- and I look forward to a discussion with you, Chairman Pai about these key issues around net neutrality today. 

We've also seen from the recent Facebook and Cambridge Analytica controversy that companies can use big data analytics to infer very sensitive and complex information about individuals and then target them with ads that can be successful and manipulative. I don't know that any of us yet know enough about the full potential of the intersection of artificial intelligence and big data to give informed consent for the use of our data by consumers. But, Chairman Simons, I want to talk to you today about how the FTC might be involved in addressing this issue and how internet privacy and consumer protection in that context may be a piece of your challenge going forward. Whether data-based targeting of this type can ever be so manipulative that it is unfair for Section 5 purposes is something I hope we'll have a conversation about today. 

Last, about access for consumers, from business to government to academics, access to the internet is no longer optional for success in the 21st Century. Not only is it important in America have access to state of the art tools to power their education, but every home or small business no matter how rural should be connected to the vital communication systems that drive our economy and way of life -- the FCC oversees the $10 billion universal service fund, which helps expand access to vital communication systems across the country. Some might think of Oklahoma as significantly more rural than Delaware, but there are areas in both of our states where access to broadband is a pressing concern. The FCC has worked over the past few years to modernize the fund, to include broadband access in addition to voice service while reducing waste and I hope that closing the digital divide will continue to be one of the FCC's priorities under your leadership and I hope to work together with the chairman to make sure that in rural portions of my state, Kent and Sussex counties as well as rural portions of his state and all of America, will have access to the broadband that we need to be successful in this century. 

I look forward to discussing these and other issues with our two chairmen today. Thank you for coming before us and for sharing your perspectives on the FCC and FTC funding requirements and program goals for FY2019 and in closing, again, Mr. Chairman, thank you for the chance to work together as friends and colleagues. 

###