The Supreme Court’s latest climate change ruling could dampen efforts by federal agencies to rein in the tech industry, which went largely unregulated for decades as the government tried to catch up to changes wrought by the internet.
Biden's picks for the five-member Federal Communications Commission have also been pursuing stronger "net neutrality" protections banning internet providers from slowing down or blocking access to websites and applications that don’t pay for premium service.
Givens disagreed, arguing that many agencies, especially the FTC, have clear authority and should be able to withstand lawsuits inspired by the EPA decision. She noted that Chief Justice John Roberts, who wrote the opinion, repeatedly described it as an "extraordinary" situation. Empowered by Congress in the 1970s to tackle "unfair or deceptive" business practices, the FTC has been in the vanguard of Biden’s government-wide mandate to promote competition in some industries, including Big Tech, health care and agriculture. A panoply of targets include hearing aid prices, airline baggage fees and "product of USA" labels on food.
He said one target could be the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, "a bête noire for many conservatives." Big companies such as Facebook parent Meta could also potentially appeal tough enforcement actions on the idea that federal agencies weren't explicitly authorized to regulate social media. Michael Brooks, chief counsel for the nonprofit Center for Auto Safety, said the ruling isn’t likely to change the government’s ability to regulate auto safetyFor instance, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has clear authority to regulate auto safety from a 1966 motor vehicle safety law, Brooks said.
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