Reddit Co-Founder Calls for More Pressure on Broadband Companies

Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, who has previously waded into debates on net neutrality, slammed the Federal Communications Commission and broadband companies for not doing enough to address the digital divide. In a video with Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-FL), as the tech executive and the congresswoman discussed how the pandemic has underscored the broadband gap, Ohanian said that “this current FCC has not shown much of an interest” in expanding broadband to parts of rural America with little to no connectivity and that “I'd love to see more leverage put on broadband companies.” “No one's particularly a big fan of their cable company,” Ohanian added. “We’ve facilitated an oligopoly — basically there's only a few per region, they don't really have to compete. And in America, in a capitalist system where there's no competition [it’s] a big problem because the whole point is we, as consumers, are supposed to be better off when there’s competition. And because there isn’t, these broadband companies have been able to get away with it for too long.”