About 5 million years ago back in OctoberFederal Communications Chairman Ajit Pai pledged to “move forward with regulations” to “clarify” Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, an important legal shield that protects online platforms from liability for certain types of content posted by users . But apparently he was quietly running the clock on those plans.
Now, less than three months later, Pai says he no longer intends to continue because, wouldn’t you know, he’s just running out of time. Drats. (Pai’s resign from the office on January 20 before the incoming Biden administration can give him the boat).
“I do not intend to proceed with the announcement of proposed regulations to the FCC,” he said Protocol Thursday, explaining that “there is simply not enough time to complete the administrative steps required to resolve rule creation.”
Of course, he may also have let these plans fall through the loopholes because of the FCC did not have legal authority to follow them in the first place.
A pointless executive order on social media issued by President Donald Trump in September, the FCC has ordered the FCC to curb Section 230 and investigate websites like Facebook, Twitter, Google and YouTube to investigate alleged anti-conservative bias. Trump’s demands came after an explosion tantrum – even for him – about social media platforms fact-checking his posts.
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If implemented, this reinterpretation of Article 230 threatened to break the internet in all kinds of ways. At least in theory. Namely, it would essentially set up the Republican-controlled FCC to remove Section 230 liability protections from all platforms Trump believed discriminated against conservatives, leaving those platforms vulnerable to lawsuits for moderating content posted by users. The thing is, the FCC just does not have the power to A.) regulate the internet to that extent or B.) rewrite federal law willy nilly.
It’s worth mentioning that now are the Democrats control of the Senate, President elect Joe Biden is ready to fast follow his nomination for the next FCC president and reverse possibly Pai’s most controversial policy decision: killing net neutrality protections that prevent ISPs from restricting access to online content or charging more for the use of certain sites.
Pai’s comments came during an interview on C-SPAN’s “The Communicators” aired this weekend, in which the chairman also heavily condemned Wednesday’s DC rebellion attempt, which at the very least left. four people death. He called the violent scene that broke out on Capitol Hill “scandalous and extremely disappointing for those of us who cherish American democracy.”
And while Pai has largely refrained from publicly commenting on the president’s antics during his tenure, he chided Trump for spreading groundless electoral conspiracy theories that should not have been “indulged.”
“I think it was a terrible mistake to suggest that the results of the election, and in particular the process that culminated in the Senate and House yesterday, could be changed in any way,” he said. “That was a terrible mistake and one that I don’t think should have been admitted in any way.”
[Protocol]