Al Franken Makes Senate Stand for Network Neutrality

[Commentary] Sen Al Franken (D-MN) took to the Senate floor May 4 to call on his colleagues to reject a House effort to take away our most basic network neutrality freedoms.

Last month, a Republican-led House voted on a "resolution of disapproval" that would strip the Federal Communications Commission of any authority to safeguard freedom of speech and freedom of choice on the Internet. The House vote was a mistake, Sen. Franken said in an impassioned speech before an empty chamber. He vowed to fight the resolution (H.J. Res. 37) when it's taken up by the Senate. Net Neutrality "is a fundamental design principle" put in place at the inception of the Internet to ensure that everyone had equal access to information online, and that the network would foster innovation and ideas. "We want to preserve that," Sen Franken said, adding that net neutrality rules ensure "that the Internet that we know and love does not become corrupted and altered by a small number of large corporations controlling the last free and open distribution channel we have in this country."