Regulatory Reform - May 2017

The internet has been buzzing about late-night talk show comedian John Oliver’s resurgence of interest in the regulations on internet broadband providers, about which he had an extended monologue on his show this week. But his misguided call-to-action has already had repercussions, including cyber-attacks on the FCC’s website, ruining the ability for them to receive comments on what the public thinks of the ”Restoring Internet Freedom” proposal presented by Ajit Pai.

In the wake of the United debacle, advocates for increased airline regulation are coming out of the woodwork. Never let a good crisis go to waste, right? They assert that tighter controls, a heavier government hand, are the only solution to the apparent horror of flying created by deregulation in the 1970s.

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals declined a request for an en banc review of a case against Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) over its power grab to regulate the Internet through Title II of the Communications Act of 1934. The refusal to grant the full court review could result in an appeal to the Supreme Court should the case, United States Telecom Association v. Federal Communications Commission, be accepted.