SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, seen here at the 2018 Conservative Political Action Conference, will be stepping down from his post in 2021. (Photo: Gage Skidmore/flickr/cc)
'Good Riddance': Progressives Welcome Ajit Pai's Departure From FCC as Great News
The current chair, said one critic, "will go down in history as one of the most corrupt government officials of the century."
Nov 29, 2020
Digital rights groups applauded the news Monday that FCC Chairman Ajit Pai--known for his efforts to destroy net neutrality and his fealty to corporate telecom interests--will resign his powerful post when President Donald Trump leaves office in January.
"His callous attack on net neutrality and blatant coddling of Big Telecom monopolies sparked the largest cross-partisan online backlash in the modern era."
--Evan Greer, Fight for the Future
" Ajit Pai will go down in history as one of the most corrupt government officials of the century," Fight for the Future deputy director Evan Greer said in a statement. "His callous attack on net neutrality and blatant coddling of Big Telecom monopolies sparked the largest cross-partisan online backlash in the modern era. As he fades into the background, his smug demeanor and giant Reese's mug will become cautionary memes--reminding internet users what happens when we don't hold our government accountable."
While Pai said in his announcement (pdf) that "it has been the honor of a lifetime" to lead the commission, he was arguably the most controversial chairperson in the FCC's 86-year history. He is best known for leading the successful push to overturn net neutrality rules in 2017, a move that former FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn at the time likened to "handing the keys to the internet to a handful of multi-billion dollar corporations." In 2018, Pai was also investigated by his own agency for alleged corruption in connection with his deregulatory blitz.
While the Pai-led effort to kill net neutrality may soon be overturned after Democrats regain a 3-2 majority on the commission, his shepherding of the T-Mobile-Sprint megamerger--for which he was accused of betraying the public interest in service of major corporations--will be much more difficult to reverse.
It will now be up to President-elect Joe Biden to decide whether to promote one of the two Democrats serving on the commission--Jessica Rosenworcel or Geoffrey Starks--to become chair or find someone new to fill the top spot.
Digital rights advocates hailed news of Pai's impending departure.
According to Greer:
Pai's departure cannot come soon enough. We are in the middle of a crushing pandemic. Hundreds of millions of people are working from home and sending their kids to school online. Comcast just announced plans to re-impose arbitrary data caps. Kids are sitting outside Taco Bell to do their homework. We desperately need a functional FCC that will quickly repair the damage done by Ajit Pai and get to work protecting the public from ISP abuses.
Matt Wood, vice president for policy and senior counsel at Free Press, said in a statement that "the entire premise of Pai's failed chairmanship is a lie."
"He claims that his radical deregulatory agenda spurred broadband improvements and closed the digital divide," Wood continued. "None of these claims are remotely true. While Pai hangs out the 'mission accomplished' banner, the stark reality is that nearly 80 million people in America still lack adequate broadband at home, with Black, Brown, and Indigenous people disproportionately disconnected."
"That gaping digital divide remains, and Pai's done nothing to close it--even during the ongoing pandemic that's made essential internet connections that much more vital," he added. "There's little positive to say about four years of wasted opportunities and bluster from this failed chairman. But saying good riddance today is an opportunity to turn the page and get back to the serious work the FCC ignored while Pai ran it."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
ajit paibarack obamacorporate powerfccfight for the futurefree pressjoe bidennet neutralitytechnologytrumpism
Digital rights groups applauded the news Monday that FCC Chairman Ajit Pai--known for his efforts to destroy net neutrality and his fealty to corporate telecom interests--will resign his powerful post when President Donald Trump leaves office in January.
"His callous attack on net neutrality and blatant coddling of Big Telecom monopolies sparked the largest cross-partisan online backlash in the modern era."
--Evan Greer, Fight for the Future
" Ajit Pai will go down in history as one of the most corrupt government officials of the century," Fight for the Future deputy director Evan Greer said in a statement. "His callous attack on net neutrality and blatant coddling of Big Telecom monopolies sparked the largest cross-partisan online backlash in the modern era. As he fades into the background, his smug demeanor and giant Reese's mug will become cautionary memes--reminding internet users what happens when we don't hold our government accountable."
While Pai said in his announcement (pdf) that "it has been the honor of a lifetime" to lead the commission, he was arguably the most controversial chairperson in the FCC's 86-year history. He is best known for leading the successful push to overturn net neutrality rules in 2017, a move that former FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn at the time likened to "handing the keys to the internet to a handful of multi-billion dollar corporations." In 2018, Pai was also investigated by his own agency for alleged corruption in connection with his deregulatory blitz.
While the Pai-led effort to kill net neutrality may soon be overturned after Democrats regain a 3-2 majority on the commission, his shepherding of the T-Mobile-Sprint megamerger--for which he was accused of betraying the public interest in service of major corporations--will be much more difficult to reverse.
It will now be up to President-elect Joe Biden to decide whether to promote one of the two Democrats serving on the commission--Jessica Rosenworcel or Geoffrey Starks--to become chair or find someone new to fill the top spot.
Digital rights advocates hailed news of Pai's impending departure.
According to Greer:
Pai's departure cannot come soon enough. We are in the middle of a crushing pandemic. Hundreds of millions of people are working from home and sending their kids to school online. Comcast just announced plans to re-impose arbitrary data caps. Kids are sitting outside Taco Bell to do their homework. We desperately need a functional FCC that will quickly repair the damage done by Ajit Pai and get to work protecting the public from ISP abuses.
Matt Wood, vice president for policy and senior counsel at Free Press, said in a statement that "the entire premise of Pai's failed chairmanship is a lie."
"He claims that his radical deregulatory agenda spurred broadband improvements and closed the digital divide," Wood continued. "None of these claims are remotely true. While Pai hangs out the 'mission accomplished' banner, the stark reality is that nearly 80 million people in America still lack adequate broadband at home, with Black, Brown, and Indigenous people disproportionately disconnected."
"That gaping digital divide remains, and Pai's done nothing to close it--even during the ongoing pandemic that's made essential internet connections that much more vital," he added. "There's little positive to say about four years of wasted opportunities and bluster from this failed chairman. But saying good riddance today is an opportunity to turn the page and get back to the serious work the FCC ignored while Pai ran it."
Digital rights groups applauded the news Monday that FCC Chairman Ajit Pai--known for his efforts to destroy net neutrality and his fealty to corporate telecom interests--will resign his powerful post when President Donald Trump leaves office in January.
"His callous attack on net neutrality and blatant coddling of Big Telecom monopolies sparked the largest cross-partisan online backlash in the modern era."
--Evan Greer, Fight for the Future
" Ajit Pai will go down in history as one of the most corrupt government officials of the century," Fight for the Future deputy director Evan Greer said in a statement. "His callous attack on net neutrality and blatant coddling of Big Telecom monopolies sparked the largest cross-partisan online backlash in the modern era. As he fades into the background, his smug demeanor and giant Reese's mug will become cautionary memes--reminding internet users what happens when we don't hold our government accountable."
While Pai said in his announcement (pdf) that "it has been the honor of a lifetime" to lead the commission, he was arguably the most controversial chairperson in the FCC's 86-year history. He is best known for leading the successful push to overturn net neutrality rules in 2017, a move that former FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn at the time likened to "handing the keys to the internet to a handful of multi-billion dollar corporations." In 2018, Pai was also investigated by his own agency for alleged corruption in connection with his deregulatory blitz.
While the Pai-led effort to kill net neutrality may soon be overturned after Democrats regain a 3-2 majority on the commission, his shepherding of the T-Mobile-Sprint megamerger--for which he was accused of betraying the public interest in service of major corporations--will be much more difficult to reverse.
It will now be up to President-elect Joe Biden to decide whether to promote one of the two Democrats serving on the commission--Jessica Rosenworcel or Geoffrey Starks--to become chair or find someone new to fill the top spot.
Digital rights advocates hailed news of Pai's impending departure.
According to Greer:
Pai's departure cannot come soon enough. We are in the middle of a crushing pandemic. Hundreds of millions of people are working from home and sending their kids to school online. Comcast just announced plans to re-impose arbitrary data caps. Kids are sitting outside Taco Bell to do their homework. We desperately need a functional FCC that will quickly repair the damage done by Ajit Pai and get to work protecting the public from ISP abuses.
Matt Wood, vice president for policy and senior counsel at Free Press, said in a statement that "the entire premise of Pai's failed chairmanship is a lie."
"He claims that his radical deregulatory agenda spurred broadband improvements and closed the digital divide," Wood continued. "None of these claims are remotely true. While Pai hangs out the 'mission accomplished' banner, the stark reality is that nearly 80 million people in America still lack adequate broadband at home, with Black, Brown, and Indigenous people disproportionately disconnected."
"That gaping digital divide remains, and Pai's done nothing to close it--even during the ongoing pandemic that's made essential internet connections that much more vital," he added. "There's little positive to say about four years of wasted opportunities and bluster from this failed chairman. But saying good riddance today is an opportunity to turn the page and get back to the serious work the FCC ignored while Pai ran it."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.