Neutering Net Neutrality
Former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler isn’t happy with efforts to walk back open internet regulations
In 2015, net neutrality advocates celebrated what seemed to be the final step in ensuring an open internet when the Federal Communications Commission officially reclassified broadband internet service as a public utility, just like telephone lines.
But the celebration has been short-lived. Soon after the Trump administration entered the White House, the FCC’s new Chairman Ajit Pai announced that he would seek to reverse his predecessor’s efforts, and instead pursue “a light-touch regulatory framework” towards internet service providers.
This week on HKS PolicyCast, we hear from Tom Wheeler, Walter Shorenstein Media and Democracy Fellow for the 2017–2018 academic year. Wheeler preceded Pai at the FCC, and was responsible for successfully achieving Title II classification.
Wheeler was an unlikely champion for the open internet. His appointment to the FCC by President Obama in 2013 was met with concern from net neutrality advocates due to his history as the top lobbyist for the wireless telecom industry.
That concern ultimately turned into admiration, as a court decision blocking previous attempts to regulate the open internet forced Wheeler to pursue the long, complicated, and ultimately successful reclassification effort.
In this episode, Wheeler discusses:
- The history of net neutrality
- The process of reclassifying broadband as a utility
- How the millions of public comments made a big difference in the reclassification effort
- His reaction to the FCC’s current reclassification efforts
- Zero-rating on wireless carriers
- Why individual regulators matter
HKS PolicyCast is the official podcast of Harvard Kennedy School, featuring weekly interviews with scholars and leading practitioners in public policy, leadership, and international affairs. It is hosted by filmmaker, writer, and policy wonk Matt Cadwallader.
