Five Years Later, Benefits Show the FCC’s Restoring Internet Freedom Order Was the Right Move, Says ITIF

WASHINGTON—In response to the fifth anniversary of the Federal Communications Commission’s release of the Restoring Internet Freedom Order, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), the leading think tank for science and technology policy, issued the following statement from Joe Kane, director of broadband and spectrum policy:

Shrill sloganeering that repealing utility-style Internet regulation would herald the “end of the Internet” has proved decisively wrong. In the five years since the FCC restored the light-touch regulatory framework that governed the Internet from its beginning, consumers have reaped the benefits of a thriving broadband ecosystem driven by ISPs’ immense private investments.

Indeed, U.S. broadband networks remained strong despite unprecedented demand during the COVID-19 pandemic. As the FCC prepares to resume its full complement of Commissioners, it should focus on how to compound the success of the last five years, rather than wasting time and resources reimposing a regulatory framework that will harm the long-term prospects for high-quality Internet for all.