Battle for the Net

Congress is trying to save net neutrality right now

A bill that would circumvent the FCC is one vote away from passing.

Battle for the Net

Congress is trying to save net neutrality right now

A bill that would circumvent the FCC is one vote away from passing.
Battle for the Net

Congress is trying to save net neutrality right now

A bill that would circumvent the FCC is one vote away from passing.

Today, members of Congress introduced legislation aimed at restoring net neutrality, and it’s looking like it’s just one vote away from passing in the Senate. Introduced by Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts, the proposal uses the Congressional Review Act, a 1996 law that grants Congress the ability to overturn the actions of agencies — like, say the Federal Communications Commission when it repealed net neutrality in December.

Following the FCC’s repeal of the 2015 Open Internet Order last December, the fate of the free and open internet has been unknown. The CRA is essentially the last hope for net neutrality advocates. If the congresspeople’s constituents disagree with what an agency has done nixing a ruling via the CRA requires only a simple majority vote.

“It’s hard to imagine a better or more popular use for the CRA than restoring network neutrality,” Jay Stanley, senior policy analyst with the American Civil Liberties Union Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project wrote in a statement published on the ACLU’s website. “Net neutrality is overwhelmingly popular across the country — recent polling shows 83 percent of voters support net neutrality, including 75 percent of Republicans, 89 percent of Democrats and 86 percent of independents. Twenty-seven states have introduced net neutrality bills, and the governors of five states have already signed net neutrality executive orders.”

The measure was originally introduced by Senator Ed Markey of Massachuchets and it already seems to be garnering considerable support throughout the Senate, with a total of 50 Senators signing on, according to Politico. The bill will still have to make it past the House or Trump’s desk to go into effect.