The battle over government regulation of broadband is far from over. Title II public utility regulation of the Internet seemed hopeless a year ago, as Marvin Ammori, a staunch net-neutrality advocate and consultant for tech companies, lamented. But prognosticators underestimated the influence of pro-Title II Internet activists and White House officials over the FCC, which will likely vote to approve Title II on February 26th. Social media and email campaigns around Internet regulatory policy may have been a game changer, but Title II is not a done deal.
Despite losing this round, Title II opponents will have their day in court, as TechFreedom President Berin Szoka explained in National Journal:
Berin Szoka, a net-neutrality skeptic and the executive director of libertarian group TechFreedom, acknowledged that net neutrality is “clearly a politically winning issue for Democrats and the netroots digital activist base.”
Szoka said he thinks there is a “very good chance” that the courts will side with broadband providers, who are already readying their lawsuits, and block some or all of the new rules. “If that happens, all of the people who are gloating now, their victory will turn to ashes,” he warned.
But a defeat in court for the FCC will only reignite net neutrality as an explosive political issue. Szoka said he hopes Republicans will learn to offer proposals to address legitimate concerns without “falling into the trap of saying stupid things about net neutrality.”
It’s now clear that policymakers have to recognize a new kind of activism around Internet policy issues. On wonky, obscure topics that used to get little attention outside of small subsets of Washington, there are now millions of people ready to mobilize and fight.