Burger King is taking a bite out of the net neutrality debate with a new ad opposing the Federal Communications Commission’s repeal of the Obama-era Internet rules.
The fast-food chain launched the nearly 3-minute-long ad Wednesday, and seeks to explain the net neutrality rollback to customers. In the ad, called “Whopper Neutrality,” Burger King customers purchasing Whoppers are subjected to different prices for the speed with which they receive their meals. Those who pay the least for their Whopper must wait longer than those who pay more for their burger.
“The Internet should be like the Whopper: the same for everyone,” the ad states.
The ad ends with Burger King’s mascot drinking from an oversized coffee mug covered with the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups logo. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has been known to drink from a similar mug.
The Republican-led FCC voted last month to roll back the net neutrality rules, which are designed to ensure all content on the Internet is treated equally by Internet service providers. Internet service providers are prohibited from blocking, throttling or interfering with traffic from certain websites under the rules.
Despite the FCC’s vote last month, it’s unlikely the debate over net neutrality is over.
Democrats in Congress have launched efforts to reverse the FCC’s repeal of net neutrality, and attorneys general in 21 states filed a legal challenge to the commission’s action.
Additionally, the Internet Association, a trade group representing the largest Internet companies, said this month it plans to intervene in legal challenges to the FCC’s order repealing net neutrality.
