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A coalition of 171 public interest groups [including the Benton Foundation] sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD) and Ranking Member Bill Nelson (D-FL) urging them not to dismantle the network neutrality rules from 2015.

“Protecting net neutrality is crucial to ensuring that the internet remains a central driver of economic growth and opportunity, job creation, education, free expression, and civic organizing for everyone,” the letter reads. "In order to promote continued economic, social, and political growth and innovation, it is imperative that the internet remain open and accessible to all people in the future." "We, the undersigned organizations, representing a diverse group of consumer, media, technology, library, arts, civil liberties, and civil rights advocates and content creators, urge you and your colleagues to oppose legislation and regulatory actions that would threaten net neutrality and roll back the important protections put in place by the FCC in 2015, and to continue to enforce the Open Internet Order as it stands."

President Donald Trump lashed out at the media over Twitter on March 7, calling reports of infighting among his aides “fake news.” The president wrote, "Don't let the FAKE NEWS tell you that there is big infighting in the Trump Admin. We are getting along great, and getting major things done!" President Trump is also said to have gone on a tirade over the weekend, blaming his staff for attorney general Jeff Sessions decision to recuse himself from campaign-related investigations.

Rep Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) said Americans may have to choose between purchasing a new iPhone or paying for health insurance. “You know what, Americans have choices. And they’ve got to make a choice,” the House Oversight Committee chairman said, one day after the House GOP unveiled its plan to replace ObamaCare. “And so maybe, rather than getting that new iPhone that they just love and they want to spend hundreds of dollars on, maybe they should invest in their own healthcare.”

A coalition of 171 public interest groups sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission and Senate leaders urging them not to dismantle the net neutrality rules from 2015.

The ACLU, the Benton Foundation, Free Press, MoveOn.org, and Public Knowledge were among the groups signing on to the letter favoring the regulations, which prohibit internet service providers from discriminating against traffic to certain sites. “Protecting net neutrality is crucial to ensuring that the internet remains a central driver of economic growth and opportunity, job creation, education, free expression, and civic organizing for everyone,” the letter reads. The message was addressed to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD) and Ranking Member Bill Nelson (D-FL). “In order to promote continued economic, social, and political growth and innovation, it is imperative that the internet remain open and accessible to all people in the future,” the groups wrote.

President Donald Trump met with Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai. “Chairman Pai had a warm meeting with President Trump this afternoon, in which they reconnected for the first time since Chairman Pai was elevated to head the FCC," an agency spokesman said. "No proceedings pending at the FCC were discussed.” Chairman Pai is set to appear before the Senate Commerce Committee on March 8 for an oversight hearing.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer defended the administration’s unconventional briefing methods at an off-camera gaggle with reporters who expressed frustration over a lack of access to the president. Rather than hold a traditional televised Q&A with reporters, Spicer briefed the media off-camera at the White House. That angered some in the press, who also expressed frustration that there had been no sightings of the president on a day when he had signed a highly anticipated executive order.

“Will we be hearing from the president this week since we didn’t today?” one reporter asked. “I’m sure at some point we’ll do something ... a photo spray,” Spicer responded. “We have a pretty good track record of making the president available to folks.” “It’s unusual,” the reporter shot back. “Everything is closed. Normally they have a photo spray or something,” American Urban Radio Networks reporter April Ryan said. “Don’t give me this ‘normally we do,’” Spicer shot back. “I made it very clear at the beginning of this April that we’d have some things on camera, some things off. Last week, the president traveled two days, he had the [speech before the] joint session [of Congress]. We briefed every day.” "It’s not about us; it’s about the American public seeing their president,” Ryan responded.

A White House spokeswoman criticized the media while defending President Trump after he claimed that former President Barack Obama wiretapped Trump Tower before the election. "The media loves to create this false narrative against the current president but is so quick to dismiss anything under the past administration," said Sarah Huckabee Sanders. "If the president walked across the Potomac, the media would report that he couldn't swim." Huckabee Sanders said the current administration is asking that "the same standard be applied to this president as the past president." "And let's look and let's get the details and let's put those out there for the American people to make a decision," she said.

President Donald Trump will meet with Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai on the afternoon of March 6, according to the White House schedule. It appears to be the first time the two will meet since President Trump elevated then-Commissioner Pai to the chairmanship in January. The White House did not immediately respond when asked what the two would discuss at the meeting. Chairman Pai is set to appear before the Senate Commerce Committee on March 8 for an oversight hearing.

[Commentary] No citizen should be denied the news and information needed to participate in our democracy. Our freedoms of speech and expression are inextricably linked to freedom of the press and an uninhibited, competitive, and vibrant marketplace of ideas. But freedom of the press is in jeopardy from a president who repeatedly calls our media “the enemy of the American people,” and by others in government who are failing in their duty to protect our liberties.

The new chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Ajit Pai, has been an eloquent spokesman for freedom of the press. I’m confident he agrees that we should not foreclose any points of view unless they pose a threat of violence. Just last year, he said, “I think it's dangerous, frankly, that we don't see more often people espousing the First Amendment view that we should have a robust marketplace of ideas where everybody should be willing and able to participate.” No one person – not even the president – should have a monopoly on our national discourse. Pai also once said, “In my view, anyone who has the privilege of serving at the FCC—any preacher with a pulpit, if you will—has the duty to speak out whenever Americans’ First Amendment rights are at stake.”

Chairman Pai, we need to hear from you now.

[Michael Copps served on the Federal Communications Commission from 2001–11, and as acting chairman for a period in 2009. He is a special adviser for Common Cause.]

[Commentary] The Federal Communications Commission decided to put on hold a portion of its historic privacy rule approved just a few months ago – the part dealing with data security. Congress is considering whether to use the Congressional Review Act to eliminate the FCC broadband privacy rules in their entirety – a move that would also prevent the FCC from issuing similar rules in the future. The rationale offered for all this action is that the rule is not consistent with how the Federal Trade Commission protects consumer privacy and data security – and that Internet service providers (your cable and wireless companies) are, therefore, being subjected to different requirements than other companies and platforms on the Internet (the “edge providers”). In the words of Acting FTC Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen and FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, “The federal government shouldn’t favor one set of companies over another."

But here’s the thing: The Federal Trade Commission does not have jurisdiction over the security and privacy practices of broadband, cable and wireless carriers.