The tech industry is already rebelling against the FCC’s latest plan for net neutrality

Silicon Valley is already rebelling against a plan by Republican Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai that would cancel the government’s network neutrality rules — and perhaps leave it to telecom giants like AT&T and Comcast to decide whether to adhere to open internet principles. "I think in practice, it goes against everything we would want in strong net neutrality protections,” said Evan Engstrom, the executive director of Engine. The group works with startups on policy issues in San Francisco (CA). As a result, Engstrom said he expected a “similar level of engagement that we saw the last time around when we had to fight” — a vicious rhetorical war that drew even John Oliver into the fray. And he said the tech industry again would “do everything we can to rally the community and the public.”

To that end, one of the Valley’s lobbying voices in Washington, the Internet Association, will share its views privately with Chairman Pai at the FCC the week of April 10, apparently. The group, which represents the likes of Facebook, Google and Twitter, declined to comment on the meeting. In a statement, though, a spokesman for the Internet Association said, “Internet companies are ready to fight to maintain strong net neutrality protections in any forum. ISPs must not be allowed to meddle with people’s right to access content and services online and efforts to weaken net neutrality rules are bad for consumers and innovation.”