Net Neutrality Potentially Gains Powerful Foe in Top Justice Candidate

William P. Barr, nominated to become the nation’s top law enforcement official in the Trump administration, is a former chief lawyer for Verizon Communications who has opposed net neutrality rules for more than a decade. Barr, who served as attorney general under former President George H.W. Bush from 1991-93, warned in 2006 that “network neutrality regulations would discourage construction of high-speed internet lines that telephone and cable giants are spending tens of billions of dollars to deploy.”

Barr’s previous employment with Verizon foreshadows credibility problems similar to those faced by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, also a former Verizon lawyer. Barr, however, is likely to face even more scrutiny stemming from his role as a member of WarnerMedia’s board of directors. The company -- which includes HBO, Turner Broadcasting, and Warner Bros. Entertainment Group -- was created in the aftermath of AT&T’s 2016 purchase of Time Warner Inc. The Time Warner acquisition has been particularly troubling for net neutrality advocates because there are no practical rules in place to prevent AT&T from blocking or slowing down access to competitors such as Netflix. AT&T already favors some wireless customers by allowing them to view its DirecTV service without fully counting it against a monthly data cap; meanwhile, viewing Netflix or Hulu shows count against AT&T wireless customer caps. Barr has argued that net neutrality rules will discourage internet service providers from investing in high-end delivery systems, such as fiber-optic networks.