Net Neutrality’s New Pennywise

For 20 years, proponents of so-called Title II net neutrality have argued the only way to ‘save the internet’ is to impose 1930s-era Ma Bell telephone regulations on today’s broadband networks. Yet five years since that approach was last rejected, even the most jaded have to admit the sky hasn’t fallen. Rather than ending the connected world as we know it, the repeal of Title II offered a powerful, years-long demonstration of just how much progress can be made when government and industry work together to get the big jobs done for consumers and our connected economy. Take, for example, the Covid-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, the U.S. stood head and shoulders above other countries. Meanwhile, European networks – after decades of hyperregulation and lackluster investment – performed a staggering 83% slower. While leaders there are now rethinking aspects of their regulatory approach, the FCC is proposing—yet again—to emulate it. We can, we must, do a whole lot better. Rather than becoming bogged down in yet another pointless Title II saga, we should be focused together—government working with industry—on issues that actually matter.