“Analog Thinking” for Digital Policymaking

[Commentary] As a regulatory agency, the Federal Communications Commission must make decisions that promote effective long-term communication policies, after reflecting on public comment of its proposals. But the FCC always must keep its eyes on the courthouse steps, as well, since all of its final orders are subject to review by a federal court.

Framing the FCC’s decision options as a binary choice reflects what I call “digital thinking” policy analysis-- expecting that policy choices consist of exactly two variables, one of which must be elected to the exclusion of the other. Regardless of the final outcome in this proceeding, the FCC should aim to counter this narrative. The best way to do this is through “analog thinking,” which is a term I use to describe a deliberate effort to think more broadly about policy options. The FCC has workable regulatory tools at hand, such as negotiated rulemaking, which have been used successfully in the past to help narrow differences among competing interests. In effect, by bringing these interests together at an earlier stage to help see what level of consensus is possible before a notice of proposed rulemaking is issued, the possibility for extending options beyond binary choices can be increased.