Progressives erupt over FCC proposal

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai unveiled Tuesday plans to dismantle the Obama administration’s “net neutrality” rules, prompting cheers from Republicans and outrage from the left.

Mr. Pai, a longtime critic of what he described as the “heavy-handed, utility-style regulations” for the internet, circulated the proposed draft called the Restore Internet Freedom Order among his fellow commissioners at Tuesday’s meeting. The FCC’s decision, under pressure from President Obama, to impose the regulatory framework in 2015 was a “mistake,” Mr. Pai said.

“It’s depressed investment in building and expanding broadband networks and deterred innovation,” Mr. Pai said in a statement. “Today, I have shared with my colleagues a draft order that would abandon this failed approach and return to the longstanding consensus that served consumers well for decades.”

The commission is scheduled to vote on the draft at its Dec. 14 open meeting. The draft will be made available to the public about three weeks beforehand.

Read more at The Washington Times