Net neutrality will make a comeback in 2022

A new chapter in the ongoing saga of net neutrality and who governs the internet will take shape over the next year thanks to another shift in power at the Federal Communications Commission. With new appointees from President Joe Biden firming up a Democratic majority at the agency, reinstating Obama-era net neutrality rules thrown out under the Trump administration will be a top priority for the FCC. In late 2021, Biden named Jessica Rosenworcel the permanent chair of the FCC. Biden's other nominee for the FCC, Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society], had her Senate confirmation hearing in December and now awaits votes from the committee and full Senate. If Sohn makes it through the confirmation process, Democrats will have the necessary 3-2 majority to lead the agency. At stake in this shift is whether the FCC will regain its authority to police the internet to ensure that broadband companies aren't abusing their power as gatekeepers. Bringing back the 2015 rules would reestablish the FCC's oversight over broadband, giving the agency the authority to crack down on broadband abuses, such as weak privacy practices or fraudulent billing. Additionally, the authority, which under the old rules was established by reclassifying broadband as a Title II service under the Communications Act, would give the FCC solid footing to step in during an emergency like a pandemic to ensure consumers aren't cut off from broadband service.