5 ms·

FCC’s Inspector General investigating whether Ajit Pai acted inappropriately

289 points by cpeterso 9y ago

aaronbrethorst 9y ago
Typically over-the-top Vice headline. This is what Inspectors General are supposed to do. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Inspector_General_(United_States) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Inspector_General_(U... edit: let me pose this differently, who else would be investigating Pai in his role as head of the FCC for potential misconduct in that role? That is the job of the IG.
- ceejayoz 9y ago
  Sure, it's what they're supposed to do, but it's notable when a) they have work to do and b) the target is the head of the agency instead of some random low-level employee.
  - nerfhammer 9y ago
    I think it's a complaint about the clickbaity phrasing. "by his own agency" vs. "by the FCC inspector general's office".
    - aaronbrethorst 9y ago
      Yes, it's a complaint about the clickbaity phrasing.
      - jjeaff 9y ago
        Doesn't seem clickbaity at all to me. He could be investigated by any number of agencies. It just so happens that this one is the one he is in charge of. Accurate headline.
        nerfhammer 9y ago
        No one is saying it's factually false. Why is it relevant/notable that it's "his own" agency? Are agency inspector generals normally loyal to their appointed directors? To the point where it goes without saying, I was supposed to assume that? The headline seems to invoke clues towards betrayals and alliances which humans' general hopeless fascination towards potentially in excess of veridicality is frequently exploited by clickbait
- samstave 9y ago
  >This is what Inspectors General are supposed to do. Sure, but this is the first time in my lifetime (43yo) that I have heard of an FCC head being investigated... AND I have spent my entire career online... So this is actually big news (to me) - in that I already was aware that I thought Pai was a corporate douche-plant... and NOW he is being investigated??? huh. so... yeah - I was speculating previously that he was a "bad dude" - but now he is a Bad Dude
  - greglindahl 9y ago
    The NYT article pointed out that Tom Wheeler, the previous FCC head, was also investigated by the FCC IG. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/15/technology/fcc-sinclair-ajit-pai.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/15/technology/fcc-sinclair-a...
    - jerkstate 9y ago
      yes, but this is the first time that the media has made a big deal out of it, so it must be more important.
- mcphage 9y ago
  That’s like saying “Sure I’m being investigated by the police, but that’s not notable at all, because investigating people is what the police are supposed to do.” Yes, it is notable, because of the target.
akshayB 9y ago
I still cannot believe why something as serious as Media consolidation & net neutrality laws are pretty much in this guy's hands.
- atonse 9y ago
  Well it's whoever is in charge of the FCC. I'm still shocked that he even became a commissioner.
  - JohnTHaller 9y ago
    In normal times, I could understand that shock. But looking at everyone else that's a part of this administration...
    - Mononokay 9y ago
      EDIT: Read the comments below, I was off a bit. EDIT2: I can't proofread - edited to clarify that DJT isn't the 55th POTUS. To be entirely fair, he isn't a partisan issue, and not one entirely of this administration. He was appointed by the 44th President and got a promotion by the 45th.
      - VectorLock 9y ago
        I hope President Camacho wouldn't promote him.
      - labster 9y ago
        Neither of those things are quite true, but he will be taking the Fifth.
      - tacomonstrous 9y ago
        He was chosen explicitly as the Republican nominee on the FCC board of commissioners, so it is most certainly partisan.
      - ictoan 9y ago
benbristow 9y ago
And who's to say he can't be persuaded by some green bills either?
- snappyTertle 9y ago
  He's probably being paid to start the investigation too.
- uytuyiyt 9y ago
  I post on http://reddit.com/r/noNetNeutrality http://reddit.com/r/noNetNeutrality occasionally. Can you show me exactly how he was paid and by who? I hear this all the time but no evidence has been cited.
  - ceejayoz 9y ago
    I think it'd be silly to assert he's being directly bribed with big suitcases full of cash. The concepts of regulatory capture and revolving doors are hardly new or significantly disputed, though. He's worked for Verizon in the past, and I'd fully expect him to land a nice industry job after his tenure. Doing nice things for industry helps a lot in future employment prospects. He has joked in the past about being a "Verizon puppet" (https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/12/ajit-pai-jokes-about-being-a-brainwashed-verizon-puppet-at-the-fcc/ https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/12/ajit-pai-jokes-a...) and given his actions I think there's a bit of truth to the joke.
gumby 9y ago
Regardless of the merits of the case, does "local control" matter? Any web site is available in pretty much every inhabited corner of the US (and this means Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google, but also Medium, NYTimes.com, Foxnews.com, random blogs, and, let's not forget, stormfront, 4chan, foxnews.com, and mother jones.com. The big broadcast networks (Comcast-NBC, CBS, Disney/ABC, and in radio, Clearchannel) dominate the airwaves in every market, just as they are entering eclipse. Do "local" stations even matter? FWIW I really, really dislike Sinclair Publishing, haven't liked almost anything Pai has said to date, and am somewhat willing to believe, a priori, that he is corrupt. And still I am not sure if there is really a problem.
- vec 9y ago
  I would argue that local channels matter even more now than they used to. Most of my day-to-day news sources are national or international. Most of the media and pop culture I consume too. I'm lucky enough to still have a local newspaper that does some actual reporting, but it's probably not long for this world. Even social media and the water cooler at work are more interested in the widely distributed professional communities I'm a member of then the actual physical community I live in. My city's nightly news broadcast is close to the only reliable source of information about my municipal and state government in my media diet. In all but the most sensational of cases, it's likely to be the one place I hear about huge classes of events which will have far more of an impact on my life than whatever is on CNN today. For all but the federal level, it's as likely as not to be my sole passive source of information about political candidates. I like to think I'm an unusually well-informed citizen (by which I mean I'm a politics junkie) and without a half hour of TV news every night I would have absolutely no clue what most of my government is doing in my name with my tax dollars.
Mc_Big_G 9y ago
Spoiler alert: Yes I hope that POS gets what's coming to him.
- maltalex 9y ago
  [Citation needed]
- dang 9y ago
  Please don't post unsubstantive/uncivil comments here. Regardless of how bad someone is or how much you dislike them, there's no reason to make Hacker News worse. You may not owe any better to the FCC chair, but you do owe better to this community. If we're to have a place for interesting discussion on the internet, we're each responsible for taking care of it.
Cknight70 9y ago
I live in a red state and e-mailed all of my representatives about net neutrality and I got a response back from all but one of them. From their responses, and my own research I've concluded there is another side to this story than just Republicans treating this like a partisan issue or votes being bought out from Comcast so large cable companies can make more money. All my representatives expressed support for repealing title 2, saying things like it hurts competition, creates a higher barrier of entry for competing companies, and the majority said they were going to be working to ensure laws are made to have true net neutrality.[0] From the responses from my representatives, and from the research I have verified from them since then, I can say title two was likely not the solution we were looking for, I would urge you to look for viewpoints against title two as well, and remember to stay skeptical to avoid fake news from all sides of the political spectrum. [0]Excerpt from one of my congressman, I'd type up one of my senator's responses but he sent me physical mail as a reply which I don't have on me: "Like you, I believe [people in our state] should have access to a free and open internet. Following the FCC's vote, I look forward to working with my colleagues in Congress to enact legislation that will preserve net neutrality principles while ensuring that the Internet is kept free from government regulations so it can continue to thrive and improve our connectivity and economy."

289 points by cpeterso 9y ago

Typically over-the-top Vice headline. This is what Inspectors General are supposed to do. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Inspector_General_(United_States) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Inspector_General_(U... edit: let me pose this differently, who else would be investigating Pai in his role as head of the FCC for potential misconduct in that role? That is the job of the IG.

ceejayoz 9y ago
Sure, it's what they're supposed to do, but it's notable when a) they have work to do and b) the target is the head of the agency instead of some random low-level employee.
- nerfhammer 9y ago
  I think it's a complaint about the clickbaity phrasing. "by his own agency" vs. "by the FCC inspector general's office".
  - aaronbrethorst 9y ago
    Yes, it's a complaint about the clickbaity phrasing.
    - jjeaff 9y ago
      Doesn't seem clickbaity at all to me. He could be investigated by any number of agencies. It just so happens that this one is the one he is in charge of. Accurate headline.
      - nerfhammer 9y ago
        No one is saying it's factually false. Why is it relevant/notable that it's "his own" agency? Are agency inspector generals normally loyal to their appointed directors? To the point where it goes without saying, I was supposed to assume that? The headline seems to invoke clues towards betrayals and alliances which humans' general hopeless fascination towards potentially in excess of veridicality is frequently exploited by clickbait
samstave 9y ago
>This is what Inspectors General are supposed to do. Sure, but this is the first time in my lifetime (43yo) that I have heard of an FCC head being investigated... AND I have spent my entire career online... So this is actually big news (to me) - in that I already was aware that I thought Pai was a corporate douche-plant... and NOW he is being investigated??? huh. so... yeah - I was speculating previously that he was a "bad dude" - but now he is a Bad Dude
- greglindahl 9y ago
  The NYT article pointed out that Tom Wheeler, the previous FCC head, was also investigated by the FCC IG. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/15/technology/fcc-sinclair-ajit-pai.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/15/technology/fcc-sinclair-a...
  - jerkstate 9y ago
    yes, but this is the first time that the media has made a big deal out of it, so it must be more important.
mcphage 9y ago
That’s like saying “Sure I’m being investigated by the police, but that’s not notable at all, because investigating people is what the police are supposed to do.” Yes, it is notable, because of the target.

akshayB 9y ago

I still cannot believe why something as serious as Media consolidation & net neutrality laws are pretty much in this guy's hands.

atonse 9y ago
Well it's whoever is in charge of the FCC. I'm still shocked that he even became a commissioner.
- JohnTHaller 9y ago
  In normal times, I could understand that shock. But looking at everyone else that's a part of this administration...
  - Mononokay 9y ago
    EDIT: Read the comments below, I was off a bit. EDIT2: I can't proofread - edited to clarify that DJT isn't the 55th POTUS. To be entirely fair, he isn't a partisan issue, and not one entirely of this administration. He was appointed by the 44th President and got a promotion by the 45th.
    - VectorLock 9y ago
      I hope President Camacho wouldn't promote him.
    - labster 9y ago
      Neither of those things are quite true, but he will be taking the Fifth.
    - tacomonstrous 9y ago
      He was chosen explicitly as the Republican nominee on the FCC board of commissioners, so it is most certainly partisan.
    - ictoan 9y ago

benbristow 9y ago

And who's to say he can't be persuaded by some green bills either?

snappyTertle 9y ago
He's probably being paid to start the investigation too.
uytuyiyt 9y ago
I post on http://reddit.com/r/noNetNeutrality http://reddit.com/r/noNetNeutrality occasionally. Can you show me exactly how he was paid and by who? I hear this all the time but no evidence has been cited.
- ceejayoz 9y ago
  I think it'd be silly to assert he's being directly bribed with big suitcases full of cash. The concepts of regulatory capture and revolving doors are hardly new or significantly disputed, though. He's worked for Verizon in the past, and I'd fully expect him to land a nice industry job after his tenure. Doing nice things for industry helps a lot in future employment prospects. He has joked in the past about being a "Verizon puppet" (https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/12/ajit-pai-jokes-about-being-a-brainwashed-verizon-puppet-at-the-fcc/ https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/12/ajit-pai-jokes-a...) and given his actions I think there's a bit of truth to the joke.

gumby 9y ago

Regardless of the merits of the case, does "local control" matter? Any web site is available in pretty much every inhabited corner of the US (and this means Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google, but also Medium, NYTimes.com, Foxnews.com, random blogs, and, let's not forget, stormfront, 4chan, foxnews.com, and mother jones.com. The big broadcast networks (Comcast-NBC, CBS, Disney/ABC, and in radio, Clearchannel) dominate the airwaves in every market, just as they are entering eclipse. Do "local" stations even matter? FWIW I really, really dislike Sinclair Publishing, haven't liked almost anything Pai has said to date, and am somewhat willing to believe, a priori, that he is corrupt. And still I am not sure if there is really a problem.

vec 9y ago
I would argue that local channels matter even more now than they used to. Most of my day-to-day news sources are national or international. Most of the media and pop culture I consume too. I'm lucky enough to still have a local newspaper that does some actual reporting, but it's probably not long for this world. Even social media and the water cooler at work are more interested in the widely distributed professional communities I'm a member of then the actual physical community I live in. My city's nightly news broadcast is close to the only reliable source of information about my municipal and state government in my media diet. In all but the most sensational of cases, it's likely to be the one place I hear about huge classes of events which will have far more of an impact on my life than whatever is on CNN today. For all but the federal level, it's as likely as not to be my sole passive source of information about political candidates. I like to think I'm an unusually well-informed citizen (by which I mean I'm a politics junkie) and without a half hour of TV news every night I would have absolutely no clue what most of my government is doing in my name with my tax dollars.

Mc_Big_G 9y ago

Spoiler alert: Yes I hope that POS gets what's coming to him.

maltalex 9y ago
[Citation needed]
dang 9y ago
Please don't post unsubstantive/uncivil comments here. Regardless of how bad someone is or how much you dislike them, there's no reason to make Hacker News worse. You may not owe any better to the FCC chair, but you do owe better to this community. If we're to have a place for interesting discussion on the internet, we're each responsible for taking care of it.

Cknight70 9y ago

I live in a red state and e-mailed all of my representatives about net neutrality and I got a response back from all but one of them. From their responses, and my own research I've concluded there is another side to this story than just Republicans treating this like a partisan issue or votes being bought out from Comcast so large cable companies can make more money. All my representatives expressed support for repealing title 2, saying things like it hurts competition, creates a higher barrier of entry for competing companies, and the majority said they were going to be working to ensure laws are made to have true net neutrality.[0] From the responses from my representatives, and from the research I have verified from them since then, I can say title two was likely not the solution we were looking for, I would urge you to look for viewpoints against title two as well, and remember to stay skeptical to avoid fake news from all sides of the political spectrum. [0]Excerpt from one of my congressman, I'd type up one of my senator's responses but he sent me physical mail as a reply which I don't have on me: "Like you, I believe [people in our state] should have access to a free and open internet. Following the FCC's vote, I look forward to working with my colleagues in Congress to enact legislation that will preserve net neutrality principles while ensuring that the Internet is kept free from government regulations so it can continue to thrive and improve our connectivity and economy."