United States President-elect Donald Trump recently confirmed his two new picks to join his transition team. Many tech and political analysts say that Trump's two choices to lead the Federal Communications Commission spells trouble for staunch defenders of net neutrality.
President-elect Trump first picked American Enterprise Institute's Jeffrey Eisenach, who is a well-known anti-regulation supporter. Eisenach has testified to the U.S. Congress regarding certain telecom issues and has also publicly shared his views regarding net neutrality.
Eisenach once wrote an op-ed in the New York Times explaining his stand against net neutrality. He ended his piece writing, "Declaring the Internet a public utility is not necessary, and it will surely prove to be unwise."
President-elect Trump also picked University of Florida professor Mark Jamison into his transition team. Jamison is a former Sprint lobbyist and a staunch critic of the FCC under the chairmanship of Tom Wheeler, according to The Verge. Like Eisenach, Jamison is also very vocal about net neutrality policy, as well as other regulatory policies passed by the FCC.
The FCC is composed of five commissioners who vote for policies being pushed by the agency. These commissioners are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate with a rule that only three commissioners can be from the same political party. Many analysts have said that Trump's choice of commissioners will tip the balance for Republican-backed policies.
Speaking with Reuters, Recon Analytics analyst Roger Entner said that Trump's latest appointments would bring "a more typical Republican FCC that is lighter on regulation and focused on competition."
President-elect Trump will be inaugurated on Jan. 20, and with the White House and Congress under Republican control, the net neutrality policy passed by the FCC will more likely be repelled or amended to suit the current leading political party's agenda. With his latest appointments, Trump may have signaled that he will try and make that happen.