Biden win could curb deals, revive net neutrality, bring abrupt shift at FCC
A victory by Joe Biden in the Nov. 3 election could usher in an abrupt change in the nation’s telecommunications policy, restoring so- called net neutrality regulation and shifting the Republican drive to rein in social media outlets, among other things.
“Democrats are more comfortable with an activist role,” Cowen & Co. analyst Paul Gallant said in an interview.
Biden hasn’t talked much about the FCC during the campaign, but his party’s platform is specific. It calls for restoring net neutrality rules put in place under then-President Barack Obama when Biden served as vice president and taking a harder line on telecommunications mergers.
And the Democratic commissioners on the FCC have already objected to the agency’s steps to strip the social media companies of liability protections they have for what users post in response to alleged favoritism by the platforms for liberal points of view.
That last issue will be in the spotlight on Wednesday when the CEOs of Facebook Inc., Twitter Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google are to appear before the Senate Commerce Committee that is considering changes to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act that shields their platforms from liability.
Current FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, who was appointed to the post by President Donald Trump, has taken up a Trump administration demand for a tougher social media policy. Earlier in his term he reversed Democratic policies on net neutrality and waved through T-Mobile US Inc.’s bid to buy Sprint Corp.
If Biden wins, the FCC, which currently is at full five- member strength, could begin the new presidential term with a 2-to-1 Democratic majority, allowing it to move quickly. A Republican commissioner is leaving at the end of the current Congress and chairmen traditionally depart as a new administration arrives.
Pai hasn’t indicated what he’ll do. He can stay on as a commissioner but a new president could strip him of the chairmanship and its power to control what policies advance to a vote. An FCC spokeswoman declined to comment when asked about Pai’s plans.
If Pai stays after a Biden win, “he’s denuded of power to do much of anything except to block things,” said Andrew Jay Schwartzman, a Washington telecommunications lawyer.
The dynamic means initiatives left incomplete by Pai — for instance the social- media rulemaking — could be targeted for elimination by Democrats.
Companies “must brace for impacts from the 2020 election,” Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Matthew Schettenhelm said in a Sept. 30 note.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Both the Democratic commissioners — and an outgoing Republican — have criticized efforts by Pai and the Trump administration to weaken Section 230 legal protections.
Ultimately, changes to the law may require an act of Congress. But the FCC’s general counsel recently said he believes Pai has authority to alter the agency’s interpretation of the measure and Pai — at the urging of Trump — says he will.
“There is a very broad political constituency on both the right and left that want to change it,” Blair Levin, a Washingtonbased analyst for New Street Research said in an interview. “It’s a clear and easy target.”
There is disagreement about the changes that are needed, however. Democrats want the social media companies to do more to control disinformation and Republicans say with little evidence the sites unfairly suppress conservative views.