Election 2024: The future of the FCC under Trump, Harris

As with every U.S. election in recent memory, 2024’s is turning out to be a bit of a rollercoaster ride. We took a dive into how a Trump Federal Communications Commission (FCC) might look and act different from a Harris FCC, and what issues each might run into. 

• A Trump FCC: The Republican path forward for the FCC was sketched out by sitting Commissioner Brendan Carr in Chapter 28 of the 900-page Project 2025 plan [see Benton summary of Carr's plan], which proposes the actions the next Republican president should take within their first 180 days in office. In the document, Commissioner Carr advocates for policies that will reign in big tech, boost national security, and increase accountability at the agency, among other things.
• A Harris FCC: If Vice President Kamala Harris were to win, a Democratic FCC would likely focus on following through with items already in progress tackling issues like digital discrimination and artificial intelligence ad disclosures. Vice President Harris has been vocal about broadband being a necessity rather than a luxury and has also been a proponent of the now-lapsed Affordable Connectivity Program. She has also backed the reinstatement of net neutrality rules and was tapped by President Joe Biden to lead the charge on establishing regulations for federal use of artificial intelligence.