FCC chief canceled CES due to threats over net neutrality abolition

Ajit Pai, the foreman of the US government agency FCC, reportedly canceled an interview at the CES electronics show because of a death threat. The threats have worsened after the decision to abolish net neutrality in the US.

The threats were reason to cancel Pai’s planned interview at CES, Recode reports based on two intelligence sources. The FCC leader has been receiving threats for some time, but they got worse after the FCC decided to abolish net neutrality in the United States. That happened last month.

This isn’t the first time an FCC executive has received threats. That was also the case a few years ago with Tom Wheeler, who held the same position as Pai now. The president gets to nominate the chairman of the FCC and hence Pai replaced Democrat Wheeler some time after Republican President Donald Trump began his term in office.

Pai would participate in a so-called ‘fireside chat’ at the electronics fair. It is customary for public figures in the United States to attend the fair, as many people from the US tech industry gather there.

The Consumer Electronics Show will take place next week in the American city of Las Vegas. The fair itself starts on Tuesday, although events surrounding the fair start as early as Sunday.