FCC’s Pai warns network neutrality rules would embolden Cuba, China

Tough network neutrality regulations in the US could embolden foreign leaders in North Korea, Iran and other authoritarian states to increase their grip on the Internet, Federal Communications Commission member Ajit Pai warned a Capitol Hill event a hosted by TechAmerica, part of the CompTIA technology trade association. Commissioner Pai said other countries are likely to take cues from increasing regulatory control of Web access in the US. “If in the United States we adopt regulations that assert more government control over how the Internet operates ... it becomes a lot more difficult for us to go on the international stage and tell governments: ‘Look, we want you to keep your hands off the internet,’” he said. “Even if the ideas aren’t completely identical, you can appreciate the optical difficult in trying to make that case," he added.