I think this is a bit to one side of the question. Where government is doing the regulating, then surely the government itself is a state actor and must not inf

I think this is a bit to one side of the question. Where government is doing the regulating, then surely the government itself is a state actor and must not infringe constitutional rights or be a party to same. You can argue it doesn't have any business calling anything a public utility, but that would be a different argument.