Hollywood needs a free and open Internet. So why isn't it fighting for it?

The major entertainment companies are putting a lot of money into luring cord cutters — millennials and others who want to ditch their cable companies — to new subscription streaming services that allow viewers to watch their favorite TV shows and movies directly over the Internet. The same industry that once blamed the Internet for stealing content now wants to use it to sell directly to consumers. It’s too bad that the Trump administration’s Federal Communications Commission is pursuing policies that could seriously harm these innovative efforts, just as the streaming business is getting going. And it’s really too bad that some in the media industry aren’t taking the threats seriously enough. The assault will come in the form of telecommunications regulation. Trump’s newly appointed FCC chairman, Ajit Pai, has made it clear he wants to eliminate rules that establish net neutrality. In the past, technology companies and public interest groups pushed hard for net neutrality. Now it’s time for reinforcements.

[Brodsky is a consultant in Washington. He covered the FCC as a journalist, and is the former head of communications for Public Knowledge.]