Buzzfeed spoke to several Silicon Valley representatives who expressed their concern over what action the next US government could take regarding the data they collect about their users. Given Trump’s criticism of Apple for refusing to create a backdoor into its mobile operating system, and expressing his interest in enhancing surveillance of Americans, some companies fear that Trump’s administration will aim to enact corresponding policies.
Moreover, Trump has attacked net neutrality in the past, calling it “Obama’s attack on the internet”, thus raising the possibility that net neutrality in the US will be threatened, the Verge reports. As for turning words into actions, Trump reportedly has picked Jeffrey Eisenach, a “crusader against regulation” who wants FCC to take a hands-off approach to digital issues, as part of his presidential transition team.
Trump therefore seem likely to take a deregulatory approach to telecom, Ars Technica reported, which would benefit the ISPs that protested against the rules that FCC implemented during Tom Wheeler’s chairmanship.
Given that the Republicans, among whom there has been strong resistance to net neutrality, have a majority in the Senate and the House of Representatives following Tuesday’s elections, debates over net neutrality in the US seem likely to be rekindled.
DSLReports and EndGadget have more on FCC’s existing policies and decisions on net neutrality, and how they could be reversed by the Trump administration.