PD Editorial: Undo Trump’s anti-consumer internet policies

Californians have spent more and more time online during the yearlong COVID-19 pandemic. They endure interminable Zoom meetings, stream through the entirety of Netflix and chat with family and friends. It’s become clear that the internet is vital public infrastructure.

So a ruling by a federal judge that California can finally start enforcing its 2018 net neutrality law is very good news. It guarantees state residents open access to the online world.

The law prohibits internet providers from slowing down data to customers based on the source. It also bars them from charging premiums to websites for preferential access to consumers. Essentially, it requires providers to treat all internet traffic the same, regardless of where it came from or where it’s going.

Telecom industry groups — who had asked the judge to continue to block the law even after the Biden administration dropped a Trump-era lawsuit against it — prefer nationwide rules.

“A state-by-state approach to Internet regulation will confuse consumers and deter innovation, just as the importance of broadband for all has never been more apparent,” a coalition of groups said in a joint statement.

While there’s something to be said for national rules, that’s a smoke screen in this case. When the Federal Communications Commission passed a national net neutrality rule under President Barack Obama, telecoms lobbied hard to get it overturned. President Donald Trump’s FCC chair, Ajit Pai, obliged. California’s law was a response.

But Californians should not be the only ones protected from the whims of their internet service providers — many of whom have a virtual monopoly in their service areas.

Ideally Congress would pass a popular net neutrality law that President Joe Biden would certainly sign. But in an evenly divided Senate, with many members who aren’t exactly on the technological cutting edge, it might be a heavy lift.

There’s another way. Pai pushed the net neutrality repeal through the FCC without congressional involvement, so the FCC could reinstate it without congressional involvement. There’s just one problem: The FCC is currently deadlocked with two Republicans opposed to net neutrality and other pro-consumer regulations, and two Democrats.

Normally there are five FCC commissioners, but Pai resigned recently. That leaves a vacancy for Biden to fill. He has already named current member Jessica Rosenworcel as the acting chair, a promising development since she supports reinstating net neutrality and making broadband more accessible across the nation.

Now Biden needs to nominate a staunch net neutrality advocate to fill the vacancy. The Senate could remain a hurdle, especially when Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Arizona, has been squishy on the issue, but it’s possible. A qualified nominee could make it through confirmation unless net neutrality becomes a litmus test.

Net neutrality is not the only policy reversal a Biden FCC needs to work on. Under Trump and Pai, the FCC did all it could to lessen its oversight of the telecommunications industry while doing next to nothing to expand Americans access to high-speed internet.

A reinvigorated FCC that focuses on serving consumers, not industry, could ensure that all Americans have the same right to the free flow of data that Californians now enjoy.

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