, leaves behind a controversial legacy: He’s regarded as either an exemplary change agent or an ideologue who forfeited consumer interests for commercial ones.
“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. None of these claims are remotely true,” said Matt Wood, Free Press VP of policy and general counsel. “There’s a basic consumer-protection mission that every FCC chairman has, and Chairman Pai has utterly failed to do that,” Stager said. “It’s the past year during the pandemic that brings his work into stark relief. He’s been asleep at the wheel. The internet has become central to social and business life — and we’ve seen virtually nothing from this FCC to address that, despite breathless press releases.
Broadcasting industry trade group NAB president/CEO Gordon Smith: “Chairman Pai has been a champion of free and local broadcasting since he joined the FCC. His fair, thoughtful approach to regulation led to many common-sense reforms that were long overdue.” Pai is due praise for long-overdue process reforms at the FCC, said Berin Szóka, president and founder of think tank TechFreedom. “The Pai FCC is the most transparent FCC that we’ve ever had. He deserves a lot of credit for changing the agency’s culture,” he said.
“If you really think net neutrality is in jeopardy today without FCC rules then the only way to ensure that problem doesn’t arise again in future GOP administrations is through a binding form of legislation,” Szóka said. “Until then we can’t have a meaningful discussion about any other telecom issue.” That includes how to fund universal broadband going forward. Currently, the U.S.’ Universal Service Fund “is the most regressive way to fund telecommunications ever,” Szóka said.