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Comment by shakna | Hacker News Reader

> FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, who led the effort to reverse net neutrality, said in a statement on Sunday that “not only is California’s internet regulation law illegal, it also hurts consumers.

Was not Pai's argument to repeal the laws in the first place that it was beyond the FCC's authority?

Is he really trying to play both sides of the same argument?

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Not necessarily. There could be things that neither FCC nor California government can legally do. I am not sure whether regulating the Internet by introducing NN is among them (given the whole "interstate commerce" thing and how broadly it is treated, you'd need a good lawyer to figure it out) but it's not impossible on the face of it, and it's not both sides of the same argument - in fact, it seems to be the same argument from the start:

The FCC's recent repeal of federal rules said that states aren't allowed to impose net neutrality rules, and FCC Chairman Ajit Pai called California's net neutrality bill "illegal."

So Pai argued from the start that states can not impose NN, and continues to do so. I guess we'll eventually see if he's correct or not, probably as the case eventually gets to SCOTUS (or the Congress clarifies it by legislation, which probably won't happen).

His argument absolutely does not make any sense. This combined with the fact that AT&T and others have already been paying administration for getting favorable laws passed, I hope someday this guy gets investigated for bribery.

> “this guy gets investigated for bribery”

This x 1000. Although I’m not sure how effective any investigation is in the Trump administration.

It seems the whole administration to the top knows of it, believes in it and treats it as the status quo.

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