The internet

First, there’s the place we know and love: the internet. The internet, as a vast, multi-faceted network involving individuals, businesses, and governments at various levels, is subject to increasing regulation — especially as it becomes more ubiquitous in every facet of daily life. The next president is likely to sign into law or receive bills from Congress that affect the internet, and as the head of federal agencies, will determine regulatory priorities in key areas like wireless broadband access and competition.

Broadband adoption has risen dramatically in the US, but there are still some gaps: the FCC found in its latest report that broadband adoption correlates with income, and that monthly bills are a barrier to many households. In terms of quality, the US lags behind the competition: a 2012 Akamai study pegs the US in 12th place for average broadband speeds, behind leaders South Korea and Japan.

The wireless broadband market in particular will continue to face challenges in the near future, as the FCC works out regulatory policies and actions in a number of areas. In recent years, the agency has worked to promote competition among wireless carriers like Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and smaller regional carriers, as they play tug-of-war over precious wireless spectrum: a finite public resource that is managed by the US government. The FCC’s aggressive action in blocking the largest US carriers has prompted some members of Congress to question the FCC's authority.

Net neutrality is also a hot issue that will likely be taken up in some form by the next administration. With the FCC’s current "Open Internet" rules under fire both from supporters and opponents, and emerging grey areas in practice (see: AT&T’s FaceTime blocking, or Comcast’s Xbox 360 Xfinity app), net neutrality policy will likely come up in the next four years.

And, of course, there’s the issue of internet freedom, which gained national prominence this year with the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA). SOPA and PIPA were controversial bills that would have allowed the Justice Department to take sites "dedicated" to copyright infringement out of the internet’s DNS system and search engine results — which would fundamentally alter the way the internet works. The bill was promoted (and written) by the entertainment lobby, and would have sailed through committee and potentially through Congress if not for an unprecedented internet-based protest over the proposed laws. While the bills were killed earlier this year, there’s a chance they could return in the next Congress in a different form.