the FCC should prioritize the removal of regulatory barriers to infrastructure investment
criticizing a proposed FCC study of the news-gathering practices of media organizations
Pai wrote an op-ed in the
Washington Post criticizing a government-funded research project named "Truthy" at
Indiana University which was studying the spread of "false and misleading ideas, hate speech and subversive propaganda" online.
[28] Pai questioned the value of the project, writing, "should taxpayer money be used to monitor your speech and evaluate your 'partisanship?'"
Pai said that he was committed to a free and open internet and that it was not the FCC's role to determine net neutrality. He testified that "a dispute this fundamental is not for us, five unelected individuals, to decide. Instead, it should be resolved by the people's elected representatives, those who choose the direction of government, and those whom the American people can hold accountable for that choice."
In February 2018, the
National Rifle Association (NRA) awarded Pai with the Charlton Heston Courage Under Fire Award for repealing net neutrality rules despite facing heavy public criticism.