Summary
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, a Republican with strong conservative views, may be appointed chair under a Trump presidency, shifting the agency’s focus from consumer protections to reducing ISP regulations and targeting Big Tech.
Carr opposes net neutrality and seeks to make tech companies contribute to the FCC’s Universal Service Fund, typically funded by telecoms.
He also supports reinterpreting Section 230 to limit legal protections for social media.
Carr’s stance against data caps regulation and net neutrality aligns with a deregulatory, pro-ISP agenda, sparking concern from consumer advocacy groups.
I thought we don’t have net neutrality, evident by the existence of data caps. Did I get that wrong?
Neutrality is about not treating some forms of data different than others.
Data caps are still neutral. They don’t care what kind of data you use, only how much.
That’s not to say they aren’t a problem. Just a different one.