With new Internet rules, FCC chair is trying to spark a fight

Ajit Pai, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), speaks during an open meeting in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, Nov. 16, 2017. The FCC plans to vote in December to kill the net neutrality rules passed during the Obama era. Photographer: Zach Gibson/Bloomberg

The debate over Internet regulation has steadily morphed over the last few years from an insular fight between telecom experts into a standard-issue political screaming match. 

The process seemed to devolve fully over the last week, starting when Federal Communications Commission chairman Ajit Pai released his plan to roll back Obama-era open Internet rules on Nov 22, the day before Thanksgiving.