FCC chair says his family is still being threatened over net neutrality repeal

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai told The Wall Street Journal on Monday that he and his family are still being threatened in the months since the agency voted to roll back Obama-era net neutrality rules.

Pai visited the newspaper’s offices on Monday, the day the repeal went into effect, and said he has continued to receive threats following the December vote. His wife and in-laws have also received threatening phone calls and messages at home and at work, according to Journal opinion writer James Freeman.

Freeman wrote that Pai’s family “still requires 24-hour security” as a result.

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The repeal of the 2015 net neutrality rules went into effect this week.

The FCC in December voted 3-2 along party lines to roll back the regulations and shift authority for policing the broadband industry to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

At an FCC hearing shortly before the vote, security evacuated the room due to a bomb threat.

The decision drew sharp criticism from Democrats and supporters of the rule, who argue that internet service providers like Verizon and Comcast will be able to discriminate against certain websites or boost the speed of ones that they’re affiliated with.

Pai, however, argued in an op-ed for CNET on Monday that the FTC is better equipped to handle the job than the FCC.

“Our framework will protect consumers and promote better, faster internet access and more competition,” Pai wrote.