Protecting the public interest, not the special interest, at the FCC

[Commentary] Congressional oversight and a necessary Federal Communications Commission reauthorization can assist to right the balance and ensure that the FCC focuses on the public interest. Interestingly, the groups that demonize Chairman Pai are also the same ones calling for regulatory solutions over market-oriented ones, specifically the regulation of broadband under common carriage rules from the 1930s. The groups are invested in realizing a nationalized broadband network instead of private provision, and Title II is essential because it could allow taxes to be levied on all Americans’ broadband subscriptions to support subsidies to municipal networks in specific areas.

Consumers who believe that a competitive market is a better protection for their desires should favor the solution which best leads to competition rather than the regulator picking winners.

[Layton is a PhD Fellow at the Center for Communication, Media, and Information Technologies (CMI) at Aalborg University in Copenhagen, Denmark.]