FCC's O'Rielly Calls For Staff Openness, New Priorities

O'Rielly

FCC Commissioner MICHAEL O'RIELLY's latest blog post calls for more FCC staff openness and a resetting of priorities.

In the piece, O'RIELLY said that during the TOM WHEELER years at the Commission, his experience with the "wonderful professional staff" of the agency indicated that "reticence sometimes seemed to be the order of the day, rather than a free-flowing exchange."  He called the experience "Frustrating indeed" and approvingly noted Chairman AJIT PAI's direction that "staff should be completely up front with all Commissioners, not just the Chairman."

In addition, O'RIELLY called for "a realization from everyone that those priorities of the past Commission – not directly required by statute – should not necessarily be the focus of staff time.  With resources at such a relative premium, staff attention shouldn’t be spent pursuing outdated goals," including the Enforcement Bureau; he specifically called for the staff to stop focusing on "those cybersecurity and privacy issues over which the Commission lacks statutory authority.  Moreover, our enforcement staff should move away from headline grabbing and eye popping penalties that will never be collected," which could be construed as a shot at the Enforcement Bureau under former Chief TRAVIS LEBLANC.

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