FCC Chairman: Net-Neutrality Supporters Saw ‘Political Advantage’ in Stirring ‘Fear’

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai said that some advocates of network neutrality saw a political advantage in fomenting fear about the policy’s end. “Net neutrality” is a “very seductive marketing slogan,” Chairman Pai said. But “ultimately what it means is government regulation of the Internet.” “As to the question of why people are upset, I’ll be candid. I think it’s because a lot of people saw a political advantage in fomenting a lot of fear,” he continued, recalling the doom-and-gloom warnings of critics who warned that Chairman Pai’s rollback of Obama-era net-neutrality regulations would be the “end of the Internet as we know it.” “Last time I checked, you can still hate-tweet your favorite FCC chairman,” he quipped.