Over 100,000 people sign petition calling on FCC chairman Ajit Pai to resign
We knew it was likely, but that hasn't made it any more popular.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to kill net neutrality Thursday, ushering in an era of new power for internet providers.
Now people are calling for the head of the FCC's head.
An online petition demanding the resignation of Ajit Pai, the organization's chairman, pulled in over 100,000 names by Friday, just over 24 hours after the vote. The page at MoveOn.org blames Pai for "ignoring millions of complaints about removing net neutrality and for impeding freedom of speech on the internet" and demands he step aside.
"He's shown himself to be a lap dog to the big ISPs."
"Ajit Pai needs to stand down. He has no respect for democracy, no respect for freedom of speech, no respect for this country," one signee wrote.
"Someone so out of touch with what the majority of Americans wanted should not be chairperson of the FCC," another said. "He's shown himself to be a lap dog to the big ISPs."
Pai defended the move, which proceeded with three Republican votes over two Democrat dissenters, as necessary for "massive infrastructure investment."
"It is not going to kill democracy. It is not going to stifle free expression online," he insisted.
He also released a dumb video featuring fidget spinners and the "Harlem Shake" entitled "7 Things You Can Still Do on the Internet After Net Neutrality" in an attempt to appease consumers. It doesn't appear to have worked.
Topics FCC Net Neutrality
Tim Chester was Senior Editor, Real Time News in Los Angeles. Before that he was Deputy Editor of Mashable UK in London. Prior to joining Mashable, Tim was a Senior Web Editor at Penguin Random House, helping to relaunch the Rough Guides website and other travel brands. He was also a writer for Buzzfeed, GQ and The Sunday Times, covering everything from culture to tech and current affairs. Before that, he was Deputy Editor at NME.COM, overseeing content and development on the London-based music and entertainment site. Tim loves music and travel and has combined these two passions at festivals from Iceland to Malawi and beyond.
