Thomas Lenard of the Technology Policy Institute wrote an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal suggesting that it’s time to shut down the FCC. The Technology Policy Institute is a well-regarded think tank that concentrates on advancing knowledge to inform policymakers. The FCC recently initiated the Delete, Delete, Delete effort that asked the industry and the public if there are unneeded FCC regulations that should be taken off the books. The response was so overwhelming that if every suggestion was implemented there would be little left of the agency.
Mr. Lenard thinks shutting the FCC is in keeping with the Administration’s effort to streamline government by shutting down unneeded agencies. He suggests that the agency has met its original role, which was to regulate monopoly telecommunications services and to promote telecom competition.
He has a good point. The FCC was created by the 1934 Telecommunications Act specifically to oversee the Bell System monopoly along with radio and telegraph service. The agency watched the sunset of telegraph service and the diminishment of radio. It expanded its reach to regulate cable TV and cellular service. All of the industries overseen by the FCC are now highly competitive. Traditional cable TV is seemingly headed on the same death spiral as telegraph service and paging. At least in cities and suburbs, people have a wide array of competitive choices for telecom services. Satellite communications is rapidly growing to fill in the gaps in rural broadband, texting, and mobile voice. The FCC hasn’t overseen any major new policy since implementing the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
There are precedents of federal agencies that put themselves out of business. The Civil Aeronautics Board and the Interstate Commerce Commission were closed when their original regulatory mission was no longer needed, with any remaining functions moved to the Department of Transportation. The push towards government efficiency probably means a lot more agencies will disappear.
If the FCC disappeared tomorrow, it would create a void in a few areas. Mr. Leonard suggest the useful functions could be moved to other agencies. It would make sense to move spectrum management and the Universal Service Fund to the Commerce Department under the NTIA. The other big useful push from the FCC in recent years is the attempt to clamp down on robocalls and spam, and that function could be moved to the FTC.
Mr. Leonard argues that, for the most part, the FCC is now an agency looking for a reason to exist. The agency is suddenly concentrating its effort on asserting authority over content on the public airways, something that is far removed from the agencies stated purpose. Commissioner Simington recently suggested the FCC should regulate streaming video. When a regulatory agency begins looking for new things to regulate, it’s probably at the end of its original mission.
There are those, including me, who think the remaining FCC’s mission is to protect the public from telecom monopolies. But in all honesty, the agency hasn’t made much effort to help the public in decades, other than perhaps with robocalling. The FCC has been a textbook example of regulatory capture where the industries being regulated have all of the sway and influence.
The Administration proposes to shut a long list of agencies, including the Department of Education, the US Agency for Global Media, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the Institute of Museum and Library Servies, the US Interagency Council on Homelessness, and the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund. Is it time to add the FCC to that list?
I don’t think the FCC should go away, just be re-centeder on the task of maintaining license compliances.
I absolutely hate the idea of pushing any FCC tasks into the NTIA or any other agengy who’s motivations aren’t strickly about spectrum use. That’ll mean the end of unlicensed spectrum as we know it.
I sent the following email to the President, VP, all my reps and the head of the FCC: Dear President Trump,
I am writing to express my support for dismantling the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), an agency that has long ceased to serve the public and now functions primarily to protect industry interests rather than consumer well-being. While discussions about eliminating unnecessary government agencies continue, the FCC deserves particular scrutiny due to its role in enabling corporate overreach and disregarding legitimate health and safety concerns.
The FCC was originally established to regulate monopoly telecommunications services, ensuring fair competition and consumer protection. However, instead of fulfilling its mission, the agency has become a textbook example of regulatory capture. Rather than serving as an independent oversight body, it now operates to the benefit of telecom giants, dismissing concerns about radiation exposure from wireless technologies and consistently resisting calls for updated safety standards.
This failure was highlighted in a 2021 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, which found that the FCC had ignored scientific evidence showing that exposure to radiofrequency radiation at levels below its current limits may cause harmful effects unrelated to cancer. The court ordered the FCC to provide a reasoned explanation for its determination that its guidelines adequately protect public health. Yet, four years have passed, and the FCC has failed to respond or update its regulations, leaving the public vulnerable to an ever-growing danger.
Scientific evidence continues to emerge suggesting that current electromagnetic radiation regulations fail to reflect modern understanding of potential health risks. Yet, rather than engaging independent experts and reassessing outdated exposure guidelines, the FCC remains beholden to industry players who profit from regulatory inertia. The agency’s arbitrary decision-making process on telecom infrastructure, service standards, and new technology deployment illustrates a pattern of capricious rulings that serve corporate convenience over public welfare.
A government agency that no longer protects its citizens should not continue to exist. If the FCC were dismantled, its few remaining useful functions could be reassigned to departments better suited for transparent governance. Spectrum management and the Universal Service Fund could transition to the Commerce Department under NTIA, while consumer protection efforts—such as combating robocalls—could be placed under the FTC.
The question should not be whether the FCC can be reformed, but whether a replacement structure should be put in place to ensure genuine oversight without industry interference. As the Administration works to streamline the federal government, eliminating agencies that have outlived their purpose, the FCC should undoubtedly be added to the list.
I urge you to take action on this matter and help advance discussions on restructuring or eliminating the FCC in favor of a system that truly serves the public interest. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Footnotes:
1: The Environmental Health Trust (EHT) and Children’s Health Defense (CHD) were among the organizations that successfully challenged the FCC’s failure to update its 1996 radiofrequency exposure guidelines. The court ruled that the FCC had ignored thousands of pages of scientific evidence detailing the harmful effects of wireless radiation, including impacts on children, wildlife, and human health. 2
Best regards,
Ms. Lonnie Gordon
Exec. Director
MalibuForSafeTech.org
http://www.malibuforsafetech.org
“The world is not dangerous because of those who do harm,
but because of those who look at it without doing anything”.
Albert Einstein
What a coincidence that two commissioners decided to leave in the same week and now FCC becomes Carr’s agency.