December 14, 2017

Trump's FCC Has Spent the Year Waging War on Democracy and the Press


http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/42893-trump-s-fcc-has-spent-the-year-waging-war-on-democracy-and-the-press
"since his assault on net neutrality protections became of immediate concern, as Mike Ludwig reported last month, the mask is coming off: Pai is viewed by media advocates as one of the most dangerous figures in a Trump White House -- a telling statement, given how many of Trump's people are hiding deep in the shadows of scandal. "Pai's FCC is a farce and a tragedy and it is going on at one of the most powerful, most destructive and most inadequately covered government agencies," Copps said. Pai heads arguably the most aggressive wing of the administration, and inarguably the most politicized FCC in the commission's 80-year existence. Moreover, he does so at a time with immensely high stakes: The future of the internet is being shaped, increasingly large "mega mergers" are on the docket, and as noted above, all of this is happening in service to a president with nothing but derision for the press. "They are getting along famously," Feld said of Pai and Trump, noting their common usage of social media to sell policy proposals. Pai's attempt to destroy internet freedom, however, does have one silver lining: It has woken people up to the danger of his agenda, as well as the importance of media policy and of monitoring the FCC closely. The support for net neutrality in public comments in recent months has been overwhelming, and while Pai seems poised to ignore them, they do not go to waste."