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The FCC Is Refusing To Release Emails About Ajit Pai's 'Harlem Shake' Video (vice.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the bad-video-ideas dept.

bumblebaetuna writes from a report via Motherboard: On the eve of the net neutrality repeal, just as tensions and public debate over the issue were reaching a fever pitch, someone in the FCC decided it would be a good idea to have chair Ajit Pai ridicule legitimate concerns of internet users with a video featuring an outdated meme and a pizzagate conspiracy theorist. Now, citing the infamous b5 FOIA exemption, the Federal Communications Commission is refusing to release emails related to the planning of the video. The b5 exemption is supposed to protect "inter-agency or intra-agency memorandum or letters which would be privileged in civil litigation," but each agency interprets that meaning differently.

5 of 84 comments (clear)

  1. total fucking transparency by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Tough shit. it's my tax dollars, I get to know what it is spent on.

  2. The actual letter by kenh · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Did MuckRake file a similar FOIA request to find out who thought it was a good idea for the President to take time out of his schedule and make a video of his March Madness bracket? Or who thought it was a good idea to dress up a group of hospital administrators in lab costs for a presidential press conference about PPACA?

    I'm sure they did - since the issue is government waste, not petty party politics, right?

    --
    Ken
    1. Re:The actual letter by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      who thought it was a good idea for the President to take time out of his schedule and make a video of his March Madness bracket?

      Holy butthurt batman!! You are torqued the president did an interview with ESPN. Really? Really?? Are you going to start bitching about the presidential easter egg roll now too?

      Since you obviously don't understand the role of the president - a lot of it is about unifying the country. Participating in non-partisan public rituals like sports is one way that's done. Its literally his job. Not that the current president could ever be bothered to do anything more unifying than a stilted recitation of somebody else's words from a teleprompter - but all the prior 44 presidents took that part of the job seriously.

      Meanwhile idjit pai's video wasn't about unifying shit. It wasn't even about explaining or promoting his ideas. It was about making sure that people who disagreed with his policy goals knew he thought they were idiots. In essence, it was just a video of him masturbating.

  3. Re:Given the sheer number of people sueing him by greenwow · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Correct. Obama was forced to appoint him.

  4. Re:Given the sheer number of people sueing him by jittles · · Score: 4, Insightful

    he might have a leg to stand on here. Still, none of this really matters. The only way to solve this is to kick the bum out that appoints him.

    Since he is being sued claiming that he intentionally destroyed net neutrality, I do not believe any memos, emails, or any other written documents related to the creation of that video would be considered privileged during civil litigation. That video tends to suggest that he doesn't give a damn about the best interests of the people of the US, and that he brazenly mocked the people he is supposed to be serving. So the first thing any plaintiff is going to ask for is communication regarding the video.