Congressional Democrats on Monday lamented the repeal of Obama-era net neutrality rules, a change that took effect Monday after Congress failed to take any steps to stop Federal Communications Commission’s decision.
“Today, the Trump administration has set into motion the destruction of the free and open Internet,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said. “Their brazen giveaway to big corporate interests will soon hit consumers and small businesses with higher costs and less choice, threatening young people’s access to the good-paying jobs of the future and jeopardizing the entrepreneurial American spirit that is the envy of the world.”
The Federal Communications Commission voted along party lines in December to repeal the net neutrality rules, which aimed to ensure Internet service providers treat all web content equally. Under the Internet regulations, which were adopted by the FCC in 2015, Internet service providers are prohibited from blocking, throttling, or interfering with web traffic.
The FCC’s vote to roll back the net neutrality rules sparked outrage from Internet companies and Senate Democrats, who launched an effort to undo the roll back.
Following the FCC’s action, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., introduced a resolution to overturn the FCC’s rule ending net neutrality through the Congressional Review Act.
[Opinion: Democrats want to reinstate net neutrality, empowering Facebook and Google]
The resolution passed 52-47 last month, when three Senate Republicans joined their Democratic counterparts.
But the measure stalled in the House, where it has not been brought up for a vote. A vote was needed by today, or the FCC’s decision would stand.
Senate Democrats last week sent House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., a letter urging him to schedule the vote on the Senate resolution.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., condemned House Republicans for failing take up the resolution and accused GOP leaders of giving a “green light to the big ISPs to charge middle-class Americans, small business owners, schools, rural Americans, and communities of color more to use the internet.”
“It’s now as clear as day to every American that – with the exception of three Republicans in the Senate – their Republican representatives in the Congress chose to protect special interests and the biggest corporates over middle-class families, average consumers, entrepreneurs and anyone who relies on the free and open internet,” he said. “Every Republican who opposed this vote will own any and all of the damaging consequences of the FCC’s horribly misguided decision.”
Though the FCC’s repeal of net neutrality has become official, a lawsuit filed by 20 states that aims to stop the roll back is pending in federal court.
Markey, meanwhile, continued to push Ryan to schedule a vote on the Senate-passed resolution.
“There will be no eulogy for net neutrality today,” he said. “The FCC will not have the last word when it comes to net neutrality, the American people will. The fight to restore net neutrality rules has new urgency today and moving forward as we continue to work in the House of Representatives to repeal the FCC’s terrible decision.”
The Massachusetts Democrat also called on supporters of the net neutrality rules to continue protesting the roll back.
Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., the top Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said the future of the Internet regulations would be determined by Congress.
“#NetNeutrality means consumers — not big corporations— choose what websites and applications we see online. Today, the @FCC’s repeal of #NetNeutrality goes into effect, but the fight for a free and open internet continues in the People’s House. #SaveTheInternet,” he tweeted.
#NetNeutrality means consumers — not big corporations— choose what websites and applications we see online. Today, the @FCC’s repeal of #NetNeutrality goes into effect, but the fight for a free and open internet continues in the People’s House. #SaveTheInternet pic.twitter.com/mSZ3UDGoag
— Rep. Frank Pallone (@FrankPallone) June 11, 2018
