Taxpayers Protection Alliance Criticizes Renewed Push for Net Neutrality

For Immediate Release                               Contact: Abigail Graham: (202) 417-7235

June 22, 2023                                                             

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Anna Gomez, President Joe Biden’s nominee to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), told the Senate Commerce Committee that she supports reclassifying internet service providers (ISPs) under Title II of the Communications Act. This would serve as the foundation to reinstate “net neutrality” regulations. The FCC enacted net neutrality during the Obama administration amid a campaign of unfounded fear mongering. Since the policy was repealed in 2017, private investment in broadband has increased and average internet speeds have skyrocketed for millions of Americans.

TPA President, David Williams, offered the following comment:

“Net neutrality fails on economic, technical, and legal grounds. First off, net neutrality proponents claim that private industry, absent heavy-handed regulation, will try to harm their own customers. That’s neither how markets nor profit incentives work. The data bear this out. A Freedom of Information Act request to the FCC uncovered a small number of complaints related to blocking or throttling issues. A deeper examination of the complaints found that practically all of them could be explained as standard network issues rather than malicious intent on the part of providers.

“Since June 2018, shortly after the net neutrality’s repeal, average fixed-broadband speeds have increased by 287 percent. Mobile broadband has improved even more rapidly. Internet providers have stepped up to help close the digital divide by providing more affordable and faster connections.

“As a legal matter, the many technical functions ISPs provide clearly preclude them from coverage under Title II. What’s more, the Supreme Court case net neutrality advocates rely on, NCTA v. Brand X (2005), is an outdated precedent, considering recent cases such as West Virginia v. EPA. Clarence Thomas, the sole remaining justice from that Court, has recanted his vote in Brand X and the improper way it strengthened executive power.

“The Senate should not rubberstamp a nominee who wants to subject a thriving industry to burdensome regulation.”

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Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to educating the public through the research, analysis and dissemination of information on the government’s effects on the economy.