December 2017

[Commentary] If you’ve lost sleep worrying about the growing power of the alt-right — that shadowy coalition that includes white nationalists, anti-feminists, far-right reactionaries and meme-sharing trolls — I may have found a cure for your anxiety. Just try using its websites. What I found on these sites was more pitiful than fear-inspiring. Sure, some alt-tech platforms were filled with upsetting examples of Nazi imagery and bigoted garbage. But most were ghost towns, with few active users and no obvious supervision.

As the FCC prepares to rightfully restore internet freedom with Title I internet rules, it’s good to know that these powerful commissions are working together to protect consumers from any unfair or anticompetitive practices. The FTC has successfully provided those essential protections for decades, and we are confident they will continue to do so. Today’s announcement from the FTC and FCC is a positive move for consumers and the internet ecosystem.

The agreement announced today between the FCC and FTC is a confusing, lackluster, reactionary afterthought: an attempt to paper over weaknesses in the Chairman’s draft proposal repealing the FCC’s 2015 net neutrality rules. “Two years ago, the FCC signed a much broader pro-consumer agreement with the FTC that already covers this issue. There is no reason to do this again other than as a smoke and mirrors PR stunt, distracting from the FCC’s planned destruction of net neutrality protections later this week.”