In a monumental vote this Wednesday, the U.S. Senate moved to reverse the GOP-controlled Federal Communications Commission’s repeal of net neutrality.
The vote approved the Congressional Review Act (CRA), which reverses the FCC’s deregulation of the broadband industry that took place last year.
The measure, which was supported by 49 Democrats and three Republicans, will most likely be killed in the GOP-controlled House.
From CNN:
Democrats used the Congressional Review Act to force a vote — a law that allows Congress to repeal agency rules and regulations on a simple majority vote, instead of a 60-vote threshold needed to break procedural hurdles on most legislation, the kinds of traditional roadblocks where Senate leadership could typically hold up such a proposal.
“That fundamental equality of access is what has made the internet so dynamic,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor. “Net neutrality protected everyone … that era, the era of an open Internet, will unfortunately soon come to an end.”
“The Democratic position is very simple. Let’s treat the internet like the public good that it is,” he continued.
Last December, the FCC voted to repeal the Obama-era protections, which prohibited internet service providers from throttling traffic to specific websites and apps. According to Democrats, the FCC’s decision handed too much power to ISPs.
Democrats aren’t likely to reverse the FCC decision, but the topic is big hit with their voter base.
Featured image via screen grab/YouTube
