In the 1990s, the FCC developed the Universal Service Fund as a way to aid telecom expansion while also providing increased digital access for low-income communities. The program is funded by charging telecoms fees (the telecoms then ostensibly pass on some of the cost incurred to paying customers) and then using the revenue from those fees to provide internet access to families, schools, healthcare providers, libraries, and other organizations who qualify for it.

However, a right-wing non-profit called Consumers’ Research recently sued the FCC, claiming that its method of funding the redistributive program was “unconstitutional.” A cursory scan of the organization’s website reveals the prevalence of a familiar “free-market” ideology and, humorously, a portal where members of the public can report “woke” workplace practices.