For fans of net neutrality — that is, the principle that network providers shouldn’t discriminate between different kinds of content when delivering services to consumers — a nightmare scenario was that Donald Trump would name an FCC chairman who would gut the protection for neutrality. And that scenario just came to pass, with the appointment of Ajit Pai.
Pai, who was named to the position of chairman on Monday by the Trump administration, has been a member of the Federal Communications Commission since 2012, so there is plenty of evidence available when it comes to his views on net neutrality. And he doesn’t like it at all.
In a speech in December after Trump had won the election, Pai said he wanted to “take a weed whacker” to the FCC’s regulations, and one of the things he had his sights set on was the FCC’s Open Internet Order, which was adopted in 2015. That decision made Internet providers “common carriers,” and required them to carry data without playing favorites.
The new FCC chairman has said that he believes net neutrality is “a solution that won’t work for a problem that doesn’t exist.” He says he hasn’t seen any evidence that consumers are disadvantaged by network providers discriminating between different content or services, and therefore such legislation isn’t necessary, and harms small ISPs.
Note: This was originally published at Fortune, where I was a senior writer from 2015 to 2017
Pai also voted against forcing digital-service providers to beef up privacy protections. And he has spoken in favor of allowing cable and telco mergers, including the proposed Comcast-Time Warner deal, which was widely criticized before being struck down by the commission. Welcome to the Trump era of Internet regulation everyone.