Ajit Pai facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ajit Pai
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Official portrait, 2018
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| Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission | |
| In office January 23, 2017 – January 20, 2021 |
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| President | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Tom Wheeler |
| Succeeded by | Jessica Rosenworcel |
| Member of the Federal Communications Commission | |
| In office May 14, 2012 – January 20, 2021 |
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| President |
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| Preceded by | Meredith Attwell Baker |
| Succeeded by | Anna M. Gomez |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Ajit Varadaraj Pai
January 10, 1973 Buffalo, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | |
Ajit Varadaraj Pai (born January 10, 1973) is an American lawyer. He was the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from 2017 to 2021. The FCC is a government agency that makes rules for things like radio, TV, and the internet.
After leaving the FCC, he became a partner at a company called Searchlight Capital in April 2021. Since April 1, 2025, he has been the president and CEO of CTIA. CTIA is a group that represents the wireless communications industry.
Ajit Pai grew up in Parsons, Kansas. His parents came to the United States from India. He studied at Harvard University and the University of Chicago Law School. Before joining the FCC, he worked as a lawyer for the U.S. government and for a large phone company called Verizon.
President Barack Obama first chose him to be a commissioner at the FCC in 2011. He was approved by the U.S. Senate in 2012. In January 2017, President Donald Trump made him the chairman of the FCC. He was the first person of Indian American heritage to hold this important job.
Ajit Pai believed in having fewer rules for the internet. On December 14, 2017, he and the FCC voted to change how the internet was regulated. He left his position on January 20, 2021.
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Ajit Pai's Early Life and School
Ajit Pai was born in Buffalo, New York, on January 10, 1973. His parents, Varadaraj and Radha Pai, moved to the U.S. from India in 1971. His father was a doctor who specialized in the urinary system, and his mother was a doctor who helped patients with pain relief during surgery. His family comes from the Konkani people.
Pai spent his childhood in Parsons, Kansas. His parents worked at the local hospital there. After finishing Parsons Senior High School in 1990, he went to Harvard University. He studied social sciences and was part of the Harvard Speech and Parliamentary Debate Society. He earned his bachelor's degree with honors from Harvard in 1994.
He then went to the University of Chicago Law School. While there, he was an editor for the University of Chicago Law Review. He also won an award for his excellent work in law. He received his law degree in 1997.
Ajit Pai's Career Journey
After law school, Ajit Pai worked for a judge in Louisiana from 1997 to 1998. Then, he joined the U.S. Department of Justice. He worked on cases about fair competition, especially in the telecommunications industry.
In 2001, Pai started working for Verizon Communications. He helped the company with rules about competition and new internet services. He left Verizon in 2003 to work for a committee in the United States Senate. He returned to the Department of Justice in 2004, working on legal policy.
From 2007 to 2011, Pai held several jobs at the FCC. He was a Deputy General Counsel, which meant he helped supervise many lawyers. He worked on rules for wireless, cable, internet, and satellite services. In 2011, he worked for a law firm called Jenner & Block.
Becoming an FCC Commissioner
In 2011, President Barack Obama nominated Ajit Pai to be a commissioner at the FCC. This was suggested by Senator Mitch McConnell. The United States Senate approved him without any opposing votes on May 7, 2012. He officially started his five-year term on May 14, 2012.
In January 2017, President Donald Trump chose Pai to be the chairman of the FCC. This was a very important role. The U.S. Senate approved him for another five-year term on October 2, 2017.
In 2019, a healthcare magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in healthcare. He resigned from his position on January 20, 2021. This was the same day Joe Biden became president. In April 2025, he became the president and CEO of CTIA, a group for the wireless industry.
Ajit Pai's Main Ideas
Ajit Pai believed in having fewer government rules for companies. He thought this would help businesses grow and create more jobs. He often said that the FCC should be quick to adapt, remove rules that stop new investments, and make more radio frequencies available for mobile internet.
He also wanted the FCC to review new technologies faster. He suggested creating a special team to help the country switch to all-internet-based networks.
Views on Net Neutrality
Ajit Pai was a strong supporter of changing the rules for net neutrality. Net neutrality is the idea that internet service providers (ISPs) should treat all data on the internet equally. This means they shouldn't block or slow down certain websites or apps.
In 2014, Pai said that five unelected people at the FCC shouldn't decide on net neutrality. He believed that elected representatives should make these decisions. He voted against the FCC's 2015 rule that classified internet service like a public utility. He thought this rule gave the government too much control over the internet.
In December 2017, the FCC, with Pai as chairman, voted to reverse the 2015 net neutrality rules. This decision was met with a lot of public discussion. Pai argued that removing these rules would help promote more digital opportunities and make high-speed internet available to everyone.
Helping Prison Inmates Call Family
Ajit Pai also had ideas about the high cost of phone calls for people in prison. He believed that because there was only one phone company in most prisons, inmates couldn't rely on competition to keep prices fair.
He disagreed with the FCC's plan in 2013 to set limits on how much companies could charge for these calls. He thought the FCC shouldn't try to manage the rates for every prison. He also worried about the use of illegal cell phones in prisons.
In 2017, after he became chairman, Pai stopped the FCC's legal case that aimed to control these phone call rates. Later, a court also struck down a large part of the FCC's rules on this issue.
Lifeline Program Changes
The Lifeline program helps low-income people get affordable phone and internet services. In 2016, Ajit Pai called for an investigation into possible fraud in this program. He believed that some people were signing up multiple times and getting too much money.
When he became chairman, he stopped some new internet providers from joining the Lifeline program. He said they hadn't followed the FCC's rules for working with Native American tribal groups. Pai argued that the previous FCC chairman had not followed the rules correctly.
Sinclair Broadcast Group
In 2017, some lawmakers asked for an investigation into Ajit Pai's actions regarding Sinclair Broadcast Group. Sinclair is a large company that owns many TV stations. These lawmakers thought Pai's decisions might unfairly help Sinclair.
The FCC, under Pai, made changes to rules about how many TV stations one company could own. These changes could benefit Sinclair. However, an investigation in 2018 found no evidence that Pai acted unfairly or showed favoritism towards Sinclair. The investigation concluded that his decisions were consistent with his past public statements.
In 2018, the FCC under Pai ordered a review of a planned merger between Sinclair and another company. This was because of concerns that Sinclair might illegally keep control of some stations. President Trump criticized this action, saying he wanted a merged company to provide a "conservative voice." The merger was later called off.
In 2020, the FCC reached an agreement with Sinclair for the company to pay a large fine. This was to end investigations into Sinclair's practices.
Section 230 and Online Content
In October 2020, Ajit Pai said he would clarify Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. This part of the law protects websites from being held responsible for what users post on their platforms. It also allows websites to remove content they consider harmful.
This discussion came after President Donald Trump had criticized social media companies like Facebook and Twitter. Trump believed these companies were biased against conservative views. Pai's goal was to make the rules around Section 230 clearer.
Images for kids
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Official portrait, 2018
