Chairman Pai says net neutrality debate detracts from broadband access issue

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai said that the controversy over the dismantling of federal network neutrality rules is distracting from "the issue of our time" - universal internet access. Chairman Pai dubbed criticism of the administration's position on net neutrality as politically charged "apocalyptic rhetoric." "That kind of misinformation is very pernicious and damaging to a core understanding of what's actually going on here," Chairman Pai said. "It's a complete distraction from the issue of our time."

Chairman Pai said that "we weren't living in an internet hellscape" prior to the Obama administration's net neutrality rules. He argued some implementations of prioritizing one website over another is not a bad thing, using an emergency scenario or telemedicine operations as examples.  "We can't say for all time in the abstract that every single one of these arrangements is bad," he said. Chairman Pai said he is more concerned with "leaving millions of Americans on the wrong side of the digital divide" when it comes to broadband access, particularly in rural areas.  "Everyone who wants it should have internet," he said. "I wish we could focus on what we could all agree on."