Network Neutrality

[Press release] I strongly support a free and open Internet. And that’s exactly what we’ve had for decades, starting in the Clinton Administration. The Internet wasn’t broken in 2015, when the prior FCC buckled to political pressure and imposed heavy-handed Title II rules on the Internet economy. It doesn’t make sense to apply outdated rules from 1934 to the Internet, but that’s exactly what the prior Administration did.

[Press release] Today, the FCC gave notice that net neutrality protections will be taken off the books on June 11. This is profoundly disappointing. The agency failed to listen to the American public and gave short shrift to their deeply held belief that internet openness should remain the law of the land. The agency turned a blind eye to serious problems in its process—from Russian intervention to fake comments to stolen identities in its files. The FCC is on the wrong side of history, the wrong side of the law, and the wrong side of the American people.

Republicans aren’t exactly rushing to support the Congressional Review Act resolution from Senate Democrats to restore the Obama-era net neutrality rules. While net neutrality advocates are trying to secure that elusive 51st vote, prominent GOP members are scoffing. Sens. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Bob Corker (R-TN) and John Boozman (R-AR) plan to vote against the CRA. “That was pretty much a no-brainer for me, it wasn’t even a difficult decision,” said Sen Corker who is retiring, arguing that the internet functioned fine before the Federal Communications Commission regulations.

The Federal Communications Commission announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved, for a period of three years, the information collection associated with the Commission’s Restoring Internet Freedom Declaratory Ruling, Report and Order, and Order (Order)’s transparency rule.

One after another, 15 Democratic senators — nearly a third of their caucus — stepped to a microphone on Capitol Hill to call for tough rules to protect net neutrality. The turnout, which included Senate Democratic leader Charles E.

Senate Democrats filed a long-promised petition to prevent the repeal of net neutrality rules in a move that will force a vote of the full Senate by a deadline of June 12. The Senate will have to vote on a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution of disapproval, which would nullify the Federal Communications Commission's December 2017 vote to repeal the nation's net neutrality rules.

[Op-ed] I support net neutrality. I support rules that prevent blocking, throttling, and paid prioritization of internet traffic. I believe these principles should guide us on Capitol Hill as we work to expand broadband access to even the most remote and rural areas of the country. You might be surprised to learn that most of my fellow senators believe this too. Unfortunately, manufactured controversy often gets more attention in Washington than real solutions. The internet is too important for partisan politics.

What really sets DC apart is our advertisements. The political ads never stop. Particularly when a major vote is about to happen — such as the upcoming vote in the Senate on S. J. Res. 52, aka the “net neutrality CRA,” aka the repeal of the FCC’s net neutrality repeal. On May 9, Senator Markey will file the resolution to force the vote — which is expected to actually happen soon.

House Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr.

You might be seeing a lot of red on the internet May 9. Many sites, including Etsy, Reddit, and OKCupid will adorn their pages with “red alerts” asking readers to tell their representatives to save net neutrality.