Frank Bass
Net Neutrality Fight Made Allies of Wireless Industry, Conservative Dark Money Organizations
A pair of telecommunications industry trade organizations gave more than $3 million to nonprofit organizations that helped secure the repeal of network neutrality policies in 2017, according to tax returns reviewed by MapLight.
Net Neutrality Potentially Gains Powerful Foe in Top Justice Candidate
William P. Barr, nominated to become the nation’s top law enforcement official in the Trump administration, is a former chief lawyer for Verizon Communications who has opposed net neutrality rules for more than a decade. Barr, who served as attorney general under former President George H.W. Bush from 1991-93, warned in 2006 that “network neutrality regulations would discourage construction of high-speed internet lines that telephone and cable giants are spending tens of billions of dollars to deploy.”
As Millions of Americans Spent Time Commenting on Net Neutrality, Internet Providers Spent $1.12 For Each Comment
Three of the largest internet service providers and their trade association have spent at least $26.3 million on lobbying the federal government since April 1 -- about $1.12 for every public comment filed with the government on a repeal of net neutrality rules. The battle over net neutrality shapes up as another defeat for Americans, who have been outmuscled by corporate money in the nation's capital on issues ranging from climate change to Ajit Pai, the former Verizon lawyer-turned-FCC head, announced that the commission would vote on a proposal to eliminate net neutrality on Dec 14.