When the Ajit Pai-led Federal Communications Commission (FCC) killed federal net neutrality rules in late 2017, the order didn’t just eliminate rules protecting an open internet—it also dramatically rolled back the FCC’s authority to rein in giant broadband providers.

At the time, the FCC stated that gutting this authority wouldn’t harm consumers because the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) would fill the void, protecting consumers from harm. But the FTC itself now says it lacks the authority to fully police bad behavior by big telecom. 

In an editorial in late 2017, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr proclaimed that with the FCC effectively sidelined, the FTC would assuredly step in and wield its antitrust authority to protect consumers against ISPs intent on abusing their positions as natural monopolies and internet gatekeepers to prioritize some services over others.

Yet in a speech last week at the National Press Club first spotted by Gizmodo, FTC head Joseph Simons said the exact opposite.

More at Vice Motherboard.