Break the Chains: New at Reason

President Trump may dabble in deregulation, but he doesn’t believe in free markets.

John Stossel writes:

My head spins.

Before President Trump was elected, FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai came on my TV show, upset because President Obama ordered his agency to regulate the internet.

For the first time, “decisions about how the internet works are going to be made by bureaucrats and politicians instead of engineers and innovators,” he complained.

Pai was outvoted by Democrats who supported Obama’s “net neutrality” rule.

“Neutrality” sounds good, but the rule actually meant the end of the permissionless innovation that allowed American companies to lead the world in cyberinnovation.

Now they would have to get government permission before trying anything new. They would not be allowed to charge big users like Netflix more, or create “fast lanes” for customers who pay extra.

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