Give Chairman Pai a Chance to Break the Net Neutrality Logjam

[Commentary] At some point Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai is going to have to dance with the elephant in the room: network neutrality. In truth, this fight is much more about the legal authority the FCC claims for regulating broadband, and its long-term implications, than it is about the open internet.

On the one hand, we could return to the prior regulatory structure established under former President Bill Clinton, with the FCC relying on light-touch rules, voluntary codes of conduct, and antitrust-like enforcement to oversee a by-and-large competitive market of different technologies innovating to offer similar services. On the other, we can continue in the direction former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler laid out toward a heavily regulated utility service. The problem is net neutrality is more religious war than policy discussion, and, with accusations of “alternative facts” already flying, it’s unlikely the gulf between the two sides is closed any time soon. We need some way to break this logjam; I hope Pai is up to the task.

[Doug Brake is a telecommunications policy analyst at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation]