Regulating the Internet: How the White House Bowled Over FCC Independence

Publication

Regulating the Internet: How the White House Bowled Over FCC Independence

Abstract

The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs under the guidance of Senator Ron Johnson issued a Majority Staff report looking into the process of how the FCC decided to reclassify broadband under Title II regulation. The report suspects that Obama and his staffers may have exerted unfair influence over the process and may have consequently induced this change. The report finds that there are serious concerns with how President Obama engaged with this reclassification, and that a plethora of confusion amongst FCC officials regarding the rule change indicate this improper influence.