The FCC voted to repeal net neutrality on Thursday and already, politicians are fighting back.
Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey announced on Thursday a plan to introduce a Congressional Review Act resolution to undo the FCC decision and restore the 2015 net neutrality rules.
The 2015 Obama-era regulations were meant to insure an “open, fair and free internet as we know it today — one that remains open to innovation and economic growth, without service providers serving as paid gatekeepers,” according to the Obama White House archives on that ruling.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said Thursday, however, that those orders restricted FCC jurisdiction, and that the decision to roll back the federal regulations of broadband providers will actually make the internet more fair and competitive.
Markey and many other politicians disagree with Pai.
“Donald Trump’s FCC made an historic mistake today by overturning its net neutrality rules, and we cannot let it stand,” Markey said in a statement. “Without strong net neutrality rules, entrepreneurs, inventors, small businesses, activists and all those who rely on a free and open internet will be at the mercy of big broadband companies that can block websites, slow down traffic and charge websites fees in order to increase their profits.”
More than 15 other senators have already signed on to co-sponsor Markey’s resolution, including Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York.
This is the end of the internet as we know it. In Congress and in the courts we must fight back. #NetNeutrality pic.twitter.com/ExKx7LFZwj
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) December 14, 2017
The @FCC just voted to repeal #NetNeutrality, a move that attacks freedom of speech for the millions of people who use the internet every single day. This is outrageous, and I’ll be joining @SenMarkey’s effort to reverse this horrible decision. https://t.co/QsgwqnNPfr
— Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) December 14, 2017
All the supporting senators have so far been Democrats. Markey will need Republican support, as both the House and Senate need to pass the Congressional Review Act with a simple majority in order to repeal the FCC decision.
Though the FCC decision was lauded as a win for Republicans, more members of the GOP are starting to criticize the move. Surveys largely showed that the public was against the FCC repealing net neutrality, with one showing that 83 percent of Americans saying they did not approve of the proposal to do so.
“With this CRA, Congress can correct the Commission’s misguided and partisan decision and keep the internet in the hands of the people, not big corporations,” Markey continued in his statement. “Our Republicans colleagues have a choice — be on the right side of history and stand with the American people who support net neutrality, or hold hands with the big cable and broadband companies who only want to supercharge their profits at the expense of consumers and our economy.”
