Enlarge / President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York City. (credit: Getty Images | Drew Angerer)
President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team is reportedly pushing a proposal to strip the Federal Communications Commission of its role in overseeing competition and consumer protection.
Multichannel News has what it calls an exclusive report that says the incoming Trump administration has “signed off on an approach to remaking the Federal Communications Commission.” The plan, offered by transition team members appointed by Trump, “squares with the deregulatory philosophies of FCC Republicans Ajit Pai and Michael O’Rielly,” who will take a 2-1 majority after Trump’s inauguration on Friday, the report said.
Besides restructuring FCC bureaus, the majority of the transition team wants to “eventually move functions deemed ‘duplicative,’ like, say, competition and consumer protection, to other agencies, particularly the Federal Trade Commission,” Multichannel news reported. The story cites “sources familiar” with a recent meeting involving Trump officials and FCC transition team members. The Trump team has not made any on-the-record statements about specific plans for the FCC.
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Source: Ars Technica – Trump team reportedly wants to strip FCC of consumer protection powers