Virtual Panel Discussion:
Mozilla v. FCC: What Next?
Thursday, April 9
1:00 - 2:00 PM
Last year, the D.C. Circuit issued its opinion in Mozilla v. Federal Communications Commission in which the court largely upheld the Commission’s 2017 Restoring Internet Freedom Order that reversed the Obama Administration’s 2015 decision to apply common carrier regulation to the Internet. While the court upheld the bulk of the agency’s actions as reasonable under the Supreme Court’s rulings in Chevron and Brand X, the court also found that the agency lacked plenary preemption authority over state efforts to regulate the Internet under the FCC’s theory of the case. Furthermore, if the next administration reverses the order, unless the Supreme Court were to curtail the Chevron doctrine, the D.C. Circuit would likely once again affirm the agency’s policy reversal. So, where do we go from here?
In this virtual panel, legal and policy experts share their views of the court’s opinion, agency deference, and what is next in the net neutrality debate and in the courts.
Panelists:
Roslyn Layton
Visiting Scholar, American Enterprise Institute
Roslyn Layton is a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, where she focuses on evidence-based policy for information, communications, and digital technology industries. Dr. Layton is also a visiting researcher at Aalborg University Center for Communication, Media, and Information Technologies and a vice president at Strand Consult, both in Denmark. Dr. Layton served on the 2016–17 Federal Communications Commission Presidential Transition Team. She has worked on the adoption of technology by emerging countries, produced independent research on the mobile technology industry, and studied issues such as information technology, telehealth care, and fintech for a variety of firms. Her studies and reports include “How Title II harms consumers and innovators” and “Beyond Net Neutrality: Policies for leadership in the information, computing, and network industries”. She earned her PhD comparing net neutrality rules across 53 countries Dr. Layton has a Ph.D. in business economics from Aalborg University, an M.B.A. from the Rotterdam School of Management, and a B.A. in international service from American University.
Randolph J. May
President, The Free State Foundation
From 1978 to 1981, Mr. May served as Assistant General Counsel and Associate General Counsel at the Federal Communication Commission, and he subsequently practiced communications and administrative law. He is a past Chair of the American Bar Association’s Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice. He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. Mr. May also has served as a Public Member of the Administrative Conference of the United States and currently is a Senior Fellow at ACUS. Mr. May is the author of a book on communications policy reform, the editor or co-editor of four other books on communications law and policy, and co-author of two books on intellectual property. In addition, he has published more than two hundred and fifty articles and essays on communications, administrative and constitutional law topics. In the past, Mr. May wrote regular columns on legal and regulatory affairs for Legal Times and the National Law Journal, leading national legal periodicals. Mr. May has served as an adjunct professor of law at George Mason University School of Law. He received his B.A. from Duke University and his J.D. from Duke Law School, where he serves as a member of the Board of Visitors.
Nathan Leamer
Vice President, Targeted Victory
Nathan Leamer served the past several years as a Policy Advisor for FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. In this role, Nathan was instrumental in developing the Restoring Internet Freedom Order. Additionally he collaborated on other agency efforts to close the digital divide and promote innovation. Before working at the FCC he served as a Senior Fellow at the R Street Institute where he managed the institute’s government relations and wrote extensively on emerging technology, intellectual property, and privacy. Previously he served on the legislative staff for Representative Justin Amash (I-MI) where he also worked on issues related to civil liberties and technology.
Moderator:
Ashley Baker
Director of Public Policy, The Committee for Justice