FCC Ready To Slam Cable Industry

Washington (dbTechno) - The FCC may begin to clamp down on the cable industry as suggestions placed towards them are pushing for exactly this as members of Congress made their return to Capitol Hill on Monday.

Republican Senators Jim DeMint, Kay Bailey Hutchison, and Gordon Smith stated that “It is clear to use that it was Congress’ intent that the marketplace, and not regulatory fiats, should govern whenever possible. If there is to be a fundamental shift or adoption of new regulatory policies, it is up to Congress, not the commission, to implement it.”

The issue at hand has the FCC and Congress battling over who oversees the cable industry.

The 70/70 rule in place prevents the cable industry from gaining too much power.

Republican Rep. John Boehner stated that the rule “was not intended to grant the FCC carte blanche to impose other types of regulation. It was drafted more than 20 years ago as a mechanism to respond to decrease in sources of content, and that clearly is not a problem today.”

Many believe that the FCC simply wants to further regulate the cable industry. FCC Chairman Martin stated that they want rules which “will provide the commission with additional authority to assure that there is opportunity for additional voices.”