February 3, 2021

Chairman Pai Symposium: Wrap-Up and Thoughts for the Future FCC

Kristian Stout

The next chair has an awfully big pair of shoes (or one oversized coffee mug) to fill. Chairman Pai established an important legacy of transparency and process improvement, as well as commitment to careful, economic analysis in the business of the agency.

Telecommunications

January 26, 2021

Ajit Pai Brought the FCC’s Media Ownership Rules into the Modern Age

Geoffrey A. Manne

Pai’s tenure at the FCC was marked by an abiding appreciation for the importance of competition, both as a guiding principle for new regulations and as a touchstone to determine when to challenge existing ones. Perhaps his greatest contribution to bringing competition to the forefront of the FCC’s mandate came in his work on media modernization.

Telecommunications

January 21, 2021

A Reflection on Commissioner Pai, Chairman Pai, and Public Service

Joshua Wright

Ajit Pai has been, in my view, the most successful, impactful minority commissioner in the history of the modern regulatory state. And it is that success that has led him to become the most successful and impactful chairman, too.

Telecommunications

January 19, 2021

Pai’s Legacy of Progress in Closing the Rural Digital Divide

Gus Hurwitz

The technical and business challenges of connecting rural America are different. Rural America needs different things out of its infrastructure than urban America. And the attitudes of both users and those providing service are different here than they are in urban America. Aji Pai gets this.

Antitrust & Consumer Protection

January 14, 2021

Introductory Post: Retrospective on Ajit Pai’s Tenure as FCC Chairman

Kristian Stout

Ajit Pai will step down from his position as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) effective Jan. 20. Beginning Jan. 15, Truth on the Market will host a symposium exploring Pai’s tenure, with contributions from a range of scholars and practitioners.

Telecommunications

September 28, 2020

tl;dr - Section 230 Reform Summaries

Kristian Stout & Ben Sperry

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act has come under close scrutiny. Section 230 provides important immunity to online platforms for the content of third-party users.

Antitrust & Consumer Protection

September 4, 2020

tl;dr - NTIA § 230 FCC Petition: A Poor Solution to an Ill-Defined Problem

Kristian Stout

While there are possible useful reforms to be made to Section 230, forcing major changes to an important law on the basis of a political quarrel would let petty politics reshape one of the most important laws that governs the Internet.

Telecommunications

May 26, 2020

ICLE Amicus Brief in NAB v. Prometheus

Geoffrey A. Manne & Gus Hurwitz & Ben Sperry

ICLE supports the petition for certiorari filed by the National Association of Broadcasters (“NAB”), et al. seeking this Court’s review of the order issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Prometheus Radio Project v. FCC.

Antitrust & Consumer Protection

April 21, 2020

Comments on Refreshing the Record in Restoring Internet Freedom and Lifeline Proceedings in Light of the D.C. Circuit’s Mozilla Decision

Geoffrey A. Manne & Gus Hurwitz & Eric Fruits & Kristian Stout & Ben Sperry

In order to maximize the benefits of broadband to society, including through the provision of public safety communications and services, public policy must promote the proper incentives for broadband buildout.…

Telecommunications