One day after a large protest of his plan to gut net neutrality rules, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai was asked if the number of pro-net neutrality comments submitted to the FCC might cause a change in course.
In response, Pai maintained his stance that the number of comments is not as important as the content of those comments.
"As I said previously, the raw number is not as important as the substantive comments that are in the record," Pai said at a press conference following yesterday's monthly FCC meeting.
Pai was answering a question posed by reporter Lynn Stanton of TRDaily. Stanton asked, "shouldn't the number of consumers who feel they are detrimentally affected be a factor in a cost-benefit analysis of what you do?" Pai did not give a definitive yes-or-no answer to the question of whether the number of pro-net neutrality comments would make any difference in his decision.
Pai previously addressed specific comments on one occasion, when he praised the "exceptionally important contribution to the debate" made by a group of 19 nonprofit municipal-broadband providers who oppose the current net neutrality rules. But Pai made no comment later on when 30 small ISPs urged him to preserve the rules.
The FCC is taking comments on Pai's plan to overturn the classification of broadband providers as common carriers and to repeal or replace the net neutrality rules that forbid blocking, throttling, and paid prioritization. On Wednesday, advocacy groups held an "Internet-wide Day of Action to Save Net Neutrality," which attracted support from website operators both large and small.