Chairman Pai: FCC Should Not Micromanage Industry

Businesses eagerly awaiting regulation rollbacks from the Trump administration may get them in an unexpected place: the internet, according to new FCC Chairman Ajit Pai.

"My own view is that the internet should be run by technologists and engineers and business people, not by lawyers and bureaucrats here in the nation's capital," Pai told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" on Wednesday.

Following that, the newly instated chairman said the agency will adopt "light touch" regulation under his leadership.

"Light touch regulation means that we create broad regulatory frameworks that can protect consumers to ensure an overall competitive marketplace," Pai said. "But we shouldn't micromanage how these companies operate their businesses in the absence of evidence of a market failure."

Pai said the FCC will continue to adhere to the public interest standard and the law when it comes to independently reviewing cases.

But letting free market ideals manifest in the tech industry, especially in the area of broadband, will be one of the agency's main priorities, he said.



"Light touch regulation, in this context, means that we let this dynamic industry, arguably the most dynamic the free market has ever known, develop. And if there are targeted cases where action might be necessary and the FCC has authority to act, then we take action," he said.