The Fight for a Free Internet Isn't Over

[Commentary] Net neutrality advocates must shift their focus from the Federal Communications Commission to Congress, where they may well find the support and power they need to safeguard a fair and free internet. There is a strong historical argument for shifting attention to Congress: the Fairness Doctrine.  

As the battle over the Fairness Doctrine, and indeed, the history of net neutrality itself, suggests, the way to secure lasting regulation is not through the executive branch but through the legislature. For net neutrality proponents, this means it's time not to give up the fight, but to change targets. The fight for a free internet rolls on, delayed but not lost.

[Nicole Hemmer is an assistant professor at the Miller Center of Public Affairs and a research associate at the US Studies Centre at the University of Sydney.]