‘Twitter is part of the problem’: FCC chairman lambastes company as net-neutrality debate draws heat

Ajit Pai, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, blasted Twitter for what he said was a push to “discriminate” against conservatives. He  accused Twitter of hypocrisy for its criticism of the FCC's plan to repeal the Obama-era regulation. “When it comes to a free and open Internet, Twitter is part of the problem,” Chairman Pai said. “The company has a viewpoint and uses that viewpoint to discriminate.” Chairman Pai, a Republican, said Twitter's own practices already violate the principles of openness the company espouses, accusing it of using a “double-standard” to police its own content. He cited the company’s recent regulation of “conservative users' accounts,” apparently referring to Twitter's recent decision to suspend and de-verify some prominent white nationalists and far-right users on its service. Chairman Pai also noted Twitter’s decision to prevent Republican Senate hopeful Marsha Blackburn from being able to pay to advertise a campaign video with controversial remarks about abortion, a move which drew a torrent of criticism from conservatives. “This conduct is many things but it isn’t fighting for an open Internet,” he said.