Ajit Pai can restore regulatory humility to the FCC

[Commentary] As one of his first actions in office, President Trump selected Ajit Pai to be the next chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. It was a phenomenal choice. Chairman Pai is a “lawyer’s lawyer” with significant experience in the field and, as such, is one of the most qualified persons ever to hold the post in recent memory. It is wonderful to see that hard work, expertise, and merit still matter in American politics.

The incoming chairman certainly has a lot on his plate. I would submit that among Chairman Pai’s most pressing concerns must be to repair the commission’s tattered reputation as an expert agency worthy of public trust. Pai’s predecessor, Democrat Tom Wheeler, had no regard for due process and no reluctance to lie to the American people to achieve political outcomes. As a result, there are growing calls to curtail—if not outright abolish—the FCC and to transfer those responsibilities to the Federal Trade Commission and other federal agencies. While changing market conditions warrant serious contemplation about the nature and scope of FCC oversight, it is also important that we not throw the proverbial baby out with the bath water simply because the Obama administration cavalierly abused the public trust.

[Lawrence Spiwak is the President of the Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal & Economic Public Policy Studies]