Pai Slams Trump for Saying Election Results Could Change, Confirms No CDA S. 230 NPRM
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai slammed Donald Trump over the outgoing president's rhetoric against the Nov. 3 election results, which led protesters to storm the Capitol Wednesday and turn violent. Pai also confirmed he won't propose changes to how the FCC interprets a tech liability shield law, conforming with expectations (see here and here).
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Pai was asked Thursday if Trump bears any responsibly for what happened with Wednesday’s violence at the Capitol. The episode of C-SPAN's Communicators was posted online at around 12:30 p.m. EST Friday and is expected to be televised this weekend. "The scenes we saw yesterday were outrageous and extremely disappointing to those of us who cherish American democracy, one hallmark of which is the peaceful transition of power," Pai answered. "It was a terrible mistake to suggest that the results of the election, and particularly the process that culminated yesterday in the Senate and the House, could in any way be changed. That was a terrible mistake and one that I do not believe should have been indulged."
Pai was then asked if such indulgence was partly responsible for the violence. Several people were killed, and Pai and other FCC members condemned what occurred (see here and here). "Given the circumstances that we saw, armed guards defending the Senate chamber, people wielding Confederate flags in the seat of American government, other actions like that, it was completely unacceptable, it was completely outrageous," Pai answered. Asked if he agrees with Facebook and Twitter acting against some of Trump’s posts, he said "given the circumstances that we saw yesterday … I’m not going to second-guess those decisions." The FCC declined to comment further. The White House didn't immediately comment.
On the FCC's interpretation of Communications Decency Act Section 230, Pai doesn't "intend to move forward” with an NPRM, he said. "Given the results of the election, there is simply not sufficient time to complete the administrative steps necessary to complete that rulemaking." There’s "bipartisan consensus among elected officials that the law should be changed," the chairman said. He noted Trump and President-elect Joe Biden say they want the section repealed. What to do legislatively here is "a very complicated issue, one that I think Congress will have to study and deliberate on very carefully," Pai said.
The FCC's newest member, Nathan Simington, became the third and final GOP commissioner Thursday to acknowledge that Biden will be sworn in Jan. 20 and to condemn the violence. See here. Simington's statement left Commissioner Geoffrey Starks as the only FCC member not to weigh in. His office didn't comment now.