FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, who
unveiled his plan last week, has denied that it would impose new fees or regulate prices. But it's difficult to determine who is right, because the commission won't release the actual text of the regulations until after it approves them on Feb. 26.
"I believe the public has a right to know what its government is doing, particularly when it comes to something as important as Internet regulation," Pai, one of two Republicans on the five-member commission, said. "I have studied the 332-page plan in detail, and it is worse than I had imagined."
Pai said he would like to release the document himself, but that only the commission chairman has that authority. Wheeler has refused to release the draft rules, saying it would violate long-standing FCC procedures. It's not even clear how much leeway Pai has to publicly discuss the draft, but he argued that he has an obligation to "correct the record."