Pai Says He Won't Be Intimidated by 'Professional' Protesters
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai worries the attacks he has undergone on net neutrality could have a negative effect on his family, he said in a podcast hosted Wednesday by Matt Lewis, a columnist for The Daily Beast. Pai said protesters…
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have been in his neighborhood talking to his neighbors. “It’s just sort of annoying,” he said. “It’s the same professional protesters who have been to the FCC many times before. … It scared my kids a little bit, which took some reassuring from me.” Needing a security plan is one of the negative parts of being chairman, he said. “My eyes are still focused on the prize, which is delivering results for the American people,” he said. “Nothing is going to intimidate me.” The FCC must focus on actual harm rather than potential harms to the internet as it revises net neutrality rules, Pai said. “If there’s a hypothetical harm, let’s wait until it materializes or at least we have evidence that it will materialize,” he said. “Otherwise, the government is simply making it up as it goes along, which is pretty dangerous for investment and innovation.” Pai said he has long believed that the preferable solution is for Congress to step in and “tell us what the rules of the road should be in the digital world once and for all,” he said. The FCC has contorted itself for years “because we’ve tried to fit this square peg of the 21st century internet marketplace into the round holes of 1934 laws or 1996 laws,” Pai said referring to the Communications Act and Telecom Act. “Otherwise, we’re going to keep having these debates over and over again.” Pai, who was on Capitol Hill last week to meet with House Commerce Committee lawmakers on net neutrality (see 1705030052), said he mostly enjoyed Hill meetings aimed at finding agreement. A few weeks ago, Pai said he met with members of the House Rural Broadband Working Group. “It was an incredible meeting” and discussions ran twice as long as scheduled, he said. “I got some very favorable feedback from the Democrats,” Pai said. “They said, ‘You know what? This has never happened before. Thank you for giving us a chance to share our views and letting us know what you’re thinking.’” Pai added, “I continue to think common ground is there.”