Biden-Sanders Task Force Platform Touches on Tech, Telecom

Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders’ “unity task forces” — which brought together backers of each camp to bridge differences in their agendas — unveiled policy recommendations that featured positions on a number of key tech policy issues. The task force included a recommendation on how the party should approach resurrecting the repealed Obama-era net neutrality protections, saying “Democrats will restore the FCC's clear authority to take strong enforcement action against broadband providers who violate net neutrality principles through blocking, throttling, paid prioritization, or other measures that create artificial scarcity and raise consumer prices for this vital service.” Though there are no explicit mentions of tech and antitrust, the proposal tasks federal regulators with “systematically incorporating broader criteria into their analytical considerations, including in particular the impact of corporate consolidation on the labor market, underserved communities, and racial equity.” And it calls for enforcers to conduct “a thorough review of all mergers and acquisitions since [President] Trump took office,” a plan that would have far-reaching implications for the tech sector.