New FCC chair has done some good, but transition’s not as easy as Pai

New FCC chair has done some good, but transition’s not as easy as Pai

By Scott Wallsten
Published in The Hill on February 17, 2017

New FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has taken it on the chin recently, which should be expected considering that many of his views run contrary to the previous chairman’s.

But much of the criticism is overwrought.

Some aspects of his first few weeks were positive. Increasing transparency in the agency’s rule-making processes is long overdue. New ideas on closing the digital divide should be considered, hopefully with an eye toward cost-effectiveness.

On the more negative side of the ledger, however, the process by which the chairman took certain actions as well as retracting certain reports were not in keeping with promises to be more inclusive than his predecessor.

Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/technology/320100-fcc-chair-has-made-some-good-moves-but-everythings-not-easy-as

Contact: Amy Smorodin, 202-828-4405, [email protected]

The Technology Policy Institute

The Technology Policy Institute is a non-profit research and educational organization that focuses on the economics of innovation, technological change, and related regulation in the United States and around the world. More information is available at https://techpolicyinstitute.org/.

+ posts

Share This Article

View More Publications by

Recommended Reads

BLS Data, School Phone Bans, and AI’s Effects on Labor Markets, Research Roundup, May 2026

Is the Kessler Effect Overplayed in the EU Space Act?

Future of News Ratings and Media Trust with NewsGuard CEO Gordon Crovitz on Two Think Minimum

Explore More Topics

Antitrust and Competition 185
Artificial Intelligence 42
Big Data 21
Blockchain 29
Broadband 391
China 2
Content Moderation 15
Economics and Methods 37
Economics of Digitization 15
Evidence-Based Policy 18
Free Speech 22
Infrastructure 1
Innovation 2
Intellectual Property 56
Miscellaneous 335
Privacy and Security 137
Regulation 19
Trade 2
Uncategorized 5

Related Articles

TPI Aspen Forum 2026: Digital Crossroads, From Telecom to Big Tech

TPI Aspen Forum 2026: Overruling Humphrey’s Executor, The Implications for Antitrust Enforcement

TPI Aspen Forum 2026: What Are Cybersecurity’s Hardest Problems?

TPI Aspen Forum 2026: Does America Lead in Quantum?

FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson Sits Down with CNBC’s Brian Sullivan at the 2026 Aspen Forum

BLS Data, School Phone Bans, and AI’s Effects on Labor Markets, Research Roundup, May 2026

Inside the NIH w/ Jay Bhattacharya on Innovation, Replication, and mRNA Policy

Is the Kessler Effect Overplayed in the EU Space Act?

Sign Up for Updates

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.