Recently, the Biden administration put forth a plan that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) endorsed with the objective of promoting “equity and diversity” in the digital domain. Despite this, a number of critics have voiced apprehensions, referring to this endeavor as a “takeover of the Internet.”

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) authorized a proposal to grant the federal government complete authority over the Internet by a vote of 3-2 on Wednesday.

The proposition is being promoted as a means to address digital inequality and ensure that broadband internet services are accessible and equitable for all citizens of the United States. However, this concept still grants broad regulatory power and access to every facet of the Internet, a possibility that many individuals can justifiably fear could be exploited by the government.

The regulatory authority over the subsequent aspects of each Internet Service Provider (ISP) would be vested in the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), as stated in the text.

• “network infrastructure deployment, network reliability, network upgrades, network maintenance, customer-premises equipment, and installation”;
• “speeds, capacities, latency, data caps, throttling, pricing, promotional rates, imposition of late fees, opportunity for equipment rental, installation time, contract renewal terms, service termination terms, and use of customer credit and account history”;
• “mandatory arbitration clauses, pricing, deposits, discounts, customer service, language options, credit checks, marketing or advertising, contract renewal, upgrades, account termination, transfers to another covered entity, and service suspension.”

FCC Commissioner Brandon Carr expressed strong disapproval in a memorandum regarding the Biden administration’s alleged effort to establish dominance over the Internet.

“Needless to say, Congress never contemplated the sweeping regulatory regime that President Biden asked the FCC to adopt—let alone authorized the agency to implement it,” Carr argued. “Nonetheless, the Commission will vote next week, on November 15th, to put President Biden’s plan in place. A draft of the FCC order implementing President Biden’s plan is available here. I oppose the plan for several reasons.”

“As exhausting as it is to read that list, the FCC itself says it is not an exhaustive li,” Carr went on. “The Biden Administration’s plan empowers the FCC to regulate every aspect of the Internet sector for the first time ever. The plan is motivated by an ideology of government control that is not compatible with the fundamental precepts of free market capitalism.”

“But it gets worse,” Carr warned. “The FCC reserves the right under this plan to regulate both ‘actions and omissions, whether recurring or a single instance.’ In other words, if you take any action, you may be liable, and if you do nothing, you may be liable. There is no path to complying with this standardless regime. It reads like a planning document drawn up in the faculty lounge of a university’s Soviet Studies Department.”

Carr performed comprehensive fact-checking regarding the alleged “myths” propagated by the Biden administration regarding its endeavors to enforce rigorous regulations on the Internet.

Carr’s fact check exposes the fabrications surrounding the repercussions of the repeal of Net Neutrality, placing particular emphasis on the fact that these assertions were ultimately unsubstantiated.

Senator Ted Cruz issued a press release regarding the matter:

“U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Ted Cruz (R-Texas) released the following statement after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to finalize its “Digital Discrimination” order:

“Despite admitting there’s ‘little to no evidence’ of discrimination by telecommunications companies, Democrats are hoping to convince the American people that broadband Internet is so racist they need to plow ahead with government-mandated affirmative action and race-based pricing. The only beneficiaries of this Orwellian ‘equity’ plan are overzealous government regulators who want to control the Internet.”

“On Monday, Sen. Cruz led 27 of his colleagues in calling on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to rescind its draft order, which would give the federal government control over nearly every aspect of the Internet while opening broadband providers to expansive, indeterminate, and crippling liability under a “disparate impact” standard. Read the full letter HERE.”

During the month of February, an executive order was covertly issued by President Biden, conveying the intention of his administration to enforce regulatory measures on the Internet in an effort to promote the values of justice and diversity.

The aforementioned directive is referred to as the “Executive Order on Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through The Federal Government.”

The incorporation of a specific provision within the executive order incited considerable concern among a substantial segment of the populace.

When designing, developing, acquiring, and utilizing automated systems and artificial intelligence within the Federal Government, agencies shall do so in a manner that promotes equity and complies with applicable law.

Implementation of the executive order would entail the creation of a “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” (DEI) board tasked with supervising the utilization of artificial intelligence (AI) to promote “equity”; this term is somewhat nebulous and can be construed to correspond with a variety of bureaucratic standards.