The downfall of Chevron deference could completely change the ways courts review net neutrality, according to Bloomberg Intelligence’s Matt Schettenhelm. “The FCC’s 2024 effort to reinstitute federal broadband regulation is the latest chapter in a long-running regulatory saga, yet we think the demise of deference will change its course in a fundamental way,” he wrote in a recent report. “This time, we don’t expect the FCC to prevail in court as it did in 2016.” Schettenhelm estimated an 80 percent chance of the FCC’s newest net neutrality order being blocked or overturned in the absence of Chevron deference.

Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan has made no secret of her ambitions to use the agency’s authority to take bold action to restore competition to digital markets and protect consumers. But with Chevron being overturned amid a broader movement undermining agency authority without clear direction from Congress, Schettenhelm said, “it’s about the worst possible time for the FTC to be claiming novel rulemaking power to address unfair competition issues in a way that it never has before.”

Khan’s methods have drawn intense criticism from the business community, most recently with the agency’s labor-friendly rulemaking banning noncompete agreements in employment contracts. That action relies on the FTC’s interpretation of its authority to allow it to take action in this area — the kind of thing that brings up questions about agency deference.

    • Fuzemain@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      Democracy isn’t when appointed officials always side with other appointed officials.

      • surewhynotlem@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        It’s when appointed officials side with the people, and the people are educated and thoughtful.

        Or so I’m told. I’ve never actually seen one. It’s like a unicorn.

        • uis@lemm.ee
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          5 months ago

          They say so many things about magical place called European Union, where all unicorns live.

        • GreyEyedGhost@lemmy.ca
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          5 months ago

          As the saying goes, “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.”

    • fukurthumz420@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      don’t take to the streets. take to the dark web. be smart. don’t be a mob. know which targets bring the most results. clandestine and precise. once upon a time, we had very smart people at the helm of the internet. i fear those people don’t exist any more.

      • ArmokGoB@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        5 months ago

        That takes an amount of cunning and resources that few people have. I think most people with the ability to do that benefit from the current status quo.

    • technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      5 months ago

      When are we taking to the streets with guns?

      After we disarm the extremely weaponized cops, military, etc… And we don’t even need guns.