The White House might be running out of time to bring back net neutrality

Shortly after coming into office, President Joe Biden moved to restore net neutrality. He signed a sweeping executive order to promote competition, calling on the Federal Communications Commission to bring back the Obama-era internet rules rolled back by the Trump administration. But close to two years later, the FCC remains deadlocked with only four of its five commissioner slots filled — and President Biden may be running out of time. Biden’s original pick for a new FCC commissioner was Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society], a former FCC official and public interest advocate. She withdrew her nomination. Now, the White House has been forced to start over, prolonging a vacancy that continues to obstruct the administration’s broadband agenda. With so little time left in Biden’s first term, stakeholders may even try to thwart a more moderate nominee, especially if there’s an opportunity to continue the stalemate past the 2024 election.