Tricks, Not Treats: New America Slams FCC’s ‘Unhinged’ October Surprise on Net Neutrality

After Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced an Oct 27 vote to reaffirm the 2017 repeal of net neutrality, Joshua Stager, senior counsel at New America’s Open Technology Institute said: “This is an October surprise that nobody wanted except for AT&T and Comcast lobbyists. A federal court ruled that the FCC was 'unhinged from reality' when it repealed net neutrality in 2017, and yesterday's announcement shows that Chairman Pai's perspective remains unhinged. His jovial announcement suggests he learned nothing from the court and has no intention of fixing his mistakes. The American people need internet freedom, not jokes about Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. There's simply too much at stake during a pandemic that millions of people are suffering through without internet access. Instead of tackling this crisis, Pai appears to be dithering with yet another gift to the telecom industry. Moreover, the opaque process behind today's announcement suggests Pai learned nothing from the court or the mess he created. If the FCC won't clean up this mess, Congress should by immediately passing the Save the Net Act.”