The Early History of the FCC Doesn’t Provide a Basis for Regulating Facebook and Google Now

[Commentary] In the early days of the Federal Communications Commission, monopolies were encouraged, and the public interest mandate worked alongside that market structure. But, the public interest has also been hugely important in the era of competition sparked by the AT&T antitrust case and the 1996 Telecommunication Act. Vague notions of either the market structure or the public interest aren’t especially good guides for policy. Rather, policymakers and the commitariat should focus on concrete alternatives and actionable outcomes. While Jeff Spross might want to “smash the centralized behemoths,” effective regulation of Facebook and Google should begin with an outline of the world that would be achieved.

[Will Rinehart is the director of technology and innovation policy at the American Action Forum.]