How one senator’s broken hip puts net neutrality at risk

Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images

An old man with a broken hip can change telecom policy. The senator had surgery on Thursday after falling and is said to be doing well. While he recuperates, he won't be able to cast votes and Democrats won't be able to flex their majority, which could cost the administration its final chance to institute net neutrality rules.

There are a lot of effects of the stalemate. The Washington Post has a good article about the panic over federal judicial appointments. The same applies to Biden's nominee for a seat on the FCC.

After Sohn is confirmed, the FCC will be in a position to restore net neutrality with a majority vote. Net neutrality will remain in limbo if the fifth seat is not occupied.

How we got here is the first thing we need to know. Net neutrality rules were advocated for by progressives throughout the 90s and00s. Tom Wheeler, the FCC Chair at the time, issued the Open Internet Order at the end of Obama's second term, giving the FCC more power over how internet access is delivered. One of the first things Republicans did after Trump's election was to roll back that order, not just winding back the clock to 2014, but stripping away telecom privacy rules and a number of other regulations.

A lot of conservatives will tell you that nothing changed, even though there is an argument about whether this was good or bad. If you want more information, you can listen to the whole thing, but the main point is that it's impossible to address a lot of the most pressing issues with telecom companies. Santa Clara firefighters didn't have anyone to appeal to in government when their data was cut off. There isn't an agency with authority to limit carriers' data collection.

This was supposed to be solved by Biden in theory. When he took office with a Congressional majority, a lot of people thought it would be easy to get a fifth Democratic commissioner confirmed and restore Wheeler's powers. I was an observer. I wrote an article in January of 2020 with the headline "Georgia's runoff may have saved net neutrality."

Nothing has occurred. Despite an ongoing push from progressive groups, her nomination simply hasn't gotten a Senate vote.

There are many reasons why this is. The votes were there for Sohn's confirmation as recently as June, according to a report. The White House took a year to nominate Sohn and left many of the Republicans unanswered.

The White House has a lot to deal with. The last month has been spent shepherding a heartbreakingly modest gun control package through Congress. Democrats may not have their majority in the Senate for a long time. It is another missed chance every week because of priorities like gun control or injuries.

It should never have reached this point. Title II and Telecom Purge Night should not be used as a substitute for the White House. Presidents shouldn't face blockades just to get regulators sympathetic to their views We shouldn't be resting the entire standoff on the physical health of an elderly person, such that he feels pressure to rush back to work instead of taking time to recover.

There is nothing to do except hope the nomination comes through under the wire and pray for the senator.