New Net Neutrality Rules Could Threaten Popular Services

Net neutrality regulations have been dead for years, and they should stay that way. Unfortunately, the Federal Communications Commission has moved to reopen and re-litigate the issue. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has initiated a new rule-making that would enact what are largely the same net neutrality rules tried back in 2016. The law has changed and markets have changed, and yet the arguments for and against net neutrality have largely remained the same. The strongest argument against the rules is that it puts services that people love under FCC scrutiny. Fortunately, net neutrality rules are not likely to survive legal scrutiny this time around, thanks to a 2021 Supreme Court decision in West Virginia v. EPA, where the Court relied on the so-called major questions doctrine to make it more difficult for agencies to expand their power. Unless Congress has granted it explicit, clear-cut authority, the Court said, an agency cannot regulate a major economic or political issue. This probably applies to net neutrality. Additionally, just as the FCC is facing a tougher court, it will also face a tougher court of public opinion. Net neutrality was meant to stop internet service providers from limiting content. But several years after repeal, it feels like it's everyone other than ISPs that actually limited content.

[Will Rinehart is a senior research fellow at the Center for Growth and Opportunity at Utah State University.]