Andrew Wyrich

The runoff for Georgia’s two Senate seats will have implications for a dizzying number of policy issues for President-elect Joe Biden’s administration—including the future of net neutrality. The two Senate seats in Georgia will determine the balance of power in Congress’ upper chamber. Controlling both chambers of Congress and the presidency would give Democrats wide latitude in shaping policy. “Winning both changes the calculus.

With the 2020 election right around the corner, the net neutrality debate could come roaring back. It’s also possible it could be decided forever. However it shakes out, there will be implications for net neutrality. So what will the future of the net neutrality battle look like under a continuation of Trump’s administration or if former Vice President Joe Biden wins? Experts see the future of net neutrality rolling out one of two ways, both of which have several avenues splintering off from each.

As Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai gets ready to consider President Donald Trump’s controversial social media executive order, there is one person’s opinion he should probably take into consideration: his own. Chairman Pai has tried to define his tenure at the head of the agency as being against “heavy-handed” regulation and has promoted a “light-touch” approach to regulation industry. And yet he seems to be totally fine with the FCC jumping headfirst into government regulation with President Donald Trump’s controversial social media executive order.

More than two dozen advocacy groups have filed briefs with a federal court supporting California’s net neutrality law as it faces an attempt to block it by the Department of Justice. The groups filed two separate amicus curiae, or friend of the court briefs, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California. The briefs were put together by some of the biggest groups who advocate for net neutrality.

With the Keep Americans Connected pledge ending July 1 — and the pandemic continuing — the question remains: What comes next for those who can’t afford to get online? Benton senior fellow and public advocate Gigi Sohn said she felt the pledge was the “bare minimum” of what Internet service providers could have done during the pandemic, and it was time for Congress to act. A flurry of bills have been proposed that try to address the connectivity issues of the digital divide which have been highlighted by coronavirus.

The Federal Communications Commission has made efforts to keep Americans connected to the internet during the coronavirus pandemic, but experts say its controversial decision to repeal net neutrality rules has handicapped the agency from doing more. The most high-profile action has been having internet service providers (ISPs) and telephone providers sign a pledge to keep people connected. The FCC’s pledge serves as a good example of what position the agency’s net neutrality repeal has put them in during the coronavirus pandemic, experts say.

Former Vice President Joe Biden’s stance on network neutrality has remained somewhat of an open question for more than a year as he’s become the front runner to take on President Donald Trump later in 2020. Questions about why Biden did not bring up the issue have been raised as other candidates have forcefully pushed their views during the Democratic primary. Many have even detailed exactly how they would restore a policy achievement made by a White House Biden was a part of.

As schools across the country move toward virtual learning as they shut down their buildings amid the coronavirus emergency, it has highlighted the digital divide that exists between students who have readily available internet access and those who do not. The Federal Communications Commission has announced a number of initiatives to help more people get connected to the internet in the wake of the coronavirus emergency. But some experts, lawmakers, and members of the agency believe it can do more.

During both recent House Communications Subcommittee hearings regarding network neutrality, Republican lawmakers have railed against Title II, rules that have been in place since 1934. On March 26, during the bill’s markup hearing, House Commerce Ranking Member Greg Walden (R-OR) called the inclusion of Title II “not necessary” for any net neutrality bill, and argued that it “could provide the federal government with near unlimited and unchecked authority for bureaucrats in Washington that oversee the internet.” However, Democratic lawmakers have argued that such predictions are unfounded g

A majority of the new Democrats in the House have made public statements supporting network neutrality, giving advocates hope that the new members of Congress will have the issue in mind moving forward. Past statements from all 64 new Democrats indicate that at least 45 of them publicly supported net neutrality.