Full transcript: FCC Chairman Ajit Pai on Recode Decode

A Q&A with Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai. Pai and Tony Romm discussed the future of network neutrality, the role of the FCC in “boring” things like the country’s infrastructure, and the agency's role overseeing telecom giants as they gobble each other up.

Asked, "What happens if we have millions and millions of Americans who file comments to the agency opposing the ideas [on net neutrality] that you’ve put forward?" Chairman Pai said, "Well, look, that’s part of the process. I wanted to make sure that we had a chance for the public to have its say. After that’s over, after that period is over, the agency takes stock of what’s in the record. Under the law, as enunciated by the DC Circuit Court of Appeals here, we have to have what’s called substantial evidence. We have to find in the record sufficient facts to justify what course of action we are going to take. There’s no numerical threshold that the courts have applied. They don’t say, “Okay, 51 percent say yes and 49 percent say no, then the decision is clear," or any proportion greater than that. They’ve said substantial evidence is the standard, so that’s the legal standard we’re going to apply going forward."