FCC Chairman to Block Implementation of Stricter Broadband Privacy Rules

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) commissioner Ajit Pai arrives at a FCC Net Neutrality hearing
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) commissioner Ajit Pai arrives at a FCC Net Neutrality hearing in Washington February 26, 2015. The FCC is expected Thursday to approve Chairman Tom Wheeler's proposed "net neutrality" rules, regulating broadband providers more heavily than in the past and restricting their power to control download speeds on the web. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS TELECOMS HEADSHOT) - RTR4RAVY
© Yuri Gripas / Reuters REUTERS

The new Federal Communications Commission chief will move to block broadband privacy rules, approved by the Obama administration, that subject broadband providers to stricter scrutiny than websites, a spokesman said on Friday, in a victory for internet providers like AT&T, Comcast and Verizon Communications.

The spokesman for FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said Pai believes all companies in the “online space should be subject to the same rules, and the federal government should not favor one set of companies over another.”

For more about the FCC, watch:

Pai plans by March 2 to delay the implementation of the rules which subject companies to stricter oversight than websites under Federal Trade Commission rules, the spokesman said.