Why is Joe Biden Silent on Net Neutrality?

Former Vice President Joe Biden’s stance on network neutrality has remained somewhat of an open question for more than a year as he’s become the front runner to take on President Donald Trump later in 2020. Questions about why Biden did not bring up the issue have been raised as other candidates have forcefully pushed their views during the Democratic primary. Many have even detailed exactly how they would restore a policy achievement made by a White House Biden was a part of.

The former vice president’s campaign only broke its silence when asked about his stance by the Daily Dot for this article. A Biden campaign spokesperson said that the former vice president “supports net neutrality” and that he was “outraged” when the Federal Communications Commission repealed the rules in 2017. “Joe Biden supports net neutrality. He was proud to see the FCC take direct action to protect consumers and innovators by preserving the open internet during the Obama-Biden Administration. Like most Americans, Joe Biden was outraged that the Trump administration reversed the Open Internet Rule and inflated this nation’s digital divide,” the campaign spokesperson said.

The campaign declined a request to comment on more specific views of Biden’s, including whether he supported classifying broadband providers under Title II of the Communications Act and whether if elected he would appoint FCC commissioners who supported Title II classification. Benton Senior Fellow and Public Advocate Gigi Sohn said she expects Biden to “come out on the right place on this” if elected president. “I don’t really have any doubt that Joe Biden and whoever Joe Biden’s FCC chair is going to be is going to be supportive of reinstating the 2015 Open Internet rules,” Sohn said, adding, “It’s become such a partisan issue—I think, unfortunately—that I can’t see any Democratic nominee diverging from it.”