Previous FCC Chair under Trump, Ajit Pai, Petitions Supreme Court to Maintain TikTok Restriction
Previous FCC Chair under Trump, Ajit Pai, Petitions Supreme Court to Maintain TikTok Restriction
Ajit Pai, who was the head of the Federal Communications Commission during Donald Trump's initial term, is distancing himself from his previous boss and advocating for the Court to approve a ban on TikTok. As reported by Business Insider, Pai and former Department of Treasury official Thomas Feddo filed a brief encouraging the judges to uphold the law that would ban TikTok's operation within US borders, despite Trump's attempts to halt the ban.
Pai's main argument is that existing legal precedents support the law, which was passed by Congress last year. This law requires TikTok's parent company ByteDance to either sell the platform or stop operating in the US. The precedent for this: Pai's own crackdown on Chinese companies.
During his time at the FCC, Pai labeled two Chinese companies as national security risks. The agency prohibited cellular providers from using government subsidies to purchase telecom equipment from manufacturers Huawei and ZTE. The reasons for this ban: these companies might be collaborating with the Chinese government to spy on Americans, a concern backed up in part by findings from journalists and the intelligence community.
Pai compared the approach to restrict apps like TikTok in the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act to his efforts to restrict Chinese telecom equipment providers. He noted that both Congress and the Executive Branch have identified specific companies under China's control that pose a significant national security risk.
Despite being at odds with 2024 Donald Trump, who has filed his own brief requesting the court to postpone the January 19 deadline for ByteDance to sell TikTok, Pai is still backing 2017-2021 Trump. It was Trump who initially proposed the ban and attempted to implement it through an executive order in 2020, which was later blocked by a federal judge. Trump also supported rules that restricted the sale of equipment to companies like Huawei and ZTE, aiming to cut off their access to American technology.
However, Trump changed his stance on TikTok earlier this year after meeting with Jeff Yass, a significant investor in TikTok and a major Trump supporter who donated almost $100 million to conservative causes in the earlier election. Trump's support for the app was further strengthened following his victory in the 2024 presidential election, which he partially attributed to his popularity on TikTok. This is also surprising but, TikTok started showing more favor towards Trump-related content following these meetings.
There seems to be no plans for Pai to return to the Trump administration (he appears content with his role in a private equity firm that is acquiring telecom companies). Thus, it's safe for him to express opposition to his former boss. If anything, Pai's stance is more principled than Trump's, so kudos where it's due.
In light of his past actions, Ajit Pai believes that the future of technology and tech companies, such as TikTok, should adhere to strict national security measures. Previously, he labeled Chinese companies like Huawei and ZTE as national security risks, leading to a ban on their telecom equipment in the US.