Dramatic policy shifts are to be expected when new administrations step into the White House. This includes regulatory actions, which don’t require the president’s signature.

This spring, in a keynote speech at the Mobile World Trade Congress trade show, the newly appointed chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Ajit Pai, signaled a major policy reversal from the Obama administration. He set his sights on one of his predecessor’s legacies, and something of a sacred cow for many: net neutrality.


Pai left no doubt about how he feels about the regulation and what he intends to do about it.


“It’s evident the rules were a mistake,” he said. “It created uncertainty in the market, and uncertainty is the enemy of growth.”


Net neutrality was put in place in 2015 by Tom Wheeler, chairman of the FCC from 2013–2016. Under his leadership, the FCC reclassified broadband providers as utilities and imposed regulations that limit their ability to charge higher rates for, or prioritize, faster service.


Net neutrality advocates say the rule makes the internet more accessible and affordable. On the other hand, opponents and broadband providers bristle at the regulation, saying that it hampers investment. With a new administration in office that favors business and wants to eliminate regulation wherever possible, the future of net neutrality doesn’t look promising.


Proponents won’t let it go without a fight. In March, more than 170 groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, sent a letter to Chairman Pai and the two ranking members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation urging them to maintain the principles of net neutrality.