Today the five members of the FCC voted, and in a 3-2 split, they decided to repeal net neutrality. No sooner was the vote announced than internet giants, some of whom stand to profit under the new system, have already come out against the decision, including Netflix and Reddit.
A STATE SENATOR IS WORKING UP LEGISLATION RIGHT NOW
According to CNN, Democratic Senator Ed Markey (Mass) is already working on legislation to combat the FCC’s decision.
“I plan to introduce a Congressional Review Act resolution that would restore the Open Internet Order and reverse the @FCC’s historic mistake of repealing #NetNeutrality,” he tweeted. “This fight is far from over.”
My fellow @SenateDems will fight the @FCC’s repeal of #NetNeutrality in courts and in the halls of Congress. We will not allow massive broadband corporations to throttle our democracy.https://t.co/jyhYvFDZzS
— Ed Markey (@SenMarkey) December 14, 2017
The Congressional Review Act gives Congress 60 days to act once an agency submits a rule change. The Senate will need a simple majority to enact the legislation. Sadly, President Trump has veto power, and of course, he is all for repealing net neutrality because it helps his buddies, the 1 percent.
NETFLIX REACTS
Netflix was vocal about its position against the FCC ruling even before the vote today. However, now that it has passed the company has taken to Twitter to let America now precisely where it stands.
“We’re disappointed in the decision to gut Net Neutrality protections that ushered in an unprecedented era of innovation, creativity & civic engagement. This is the beginning of a longer legal battle. Netflix stands w/ innovators, large & small, to oppose this misguided FCC order,” the streaming service tweeted after the decision was announced today.
REDDIT REACTS
CEO of Reddit, Steve Huffman alongside co-founder Alexis Ohanian issued a statement shortly after the vote as well. They call the decision “predictably frustrating.”
“Today’s vote is the beginning, not the end. While the fight to preserve net neutrality is going to be longer than we had hoped, this is far from over,” they wrote in their statement. “Many of you have asked what comes next. We don’t exactly know yet, but it seems likely that the FCC’s decision will be challenged in court soon, and we would be supportive of that challenge. It’s also possible that Congress can decide to take up the cause and create strong, enforceable net neutrality rules that aren’t subject to the political winds at the FCC. Nevertheless, this will be a complex process that takes time.”
LAWSUITS
Of course, there is always the option of filing legal action to reverse or block the rule change. Already, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has vowed to do just that.
“Today’s rollback will give ISPs new ways to control what we see, what we do, and what we say online,” A.G. Schneiderman said. “That’s a threat to the free exchange of ideas that’s made the Internet a valuable asset in our democratic process.”
Suffice it to say; there are several avenues in which we can fight the FCC’s decision to reverse net neutrality. Yesterday, here at Progressive Liberal we encouraged everyone to let the FCC know they stood against this vote. It turns out; the FCC received so many visitors to the site that it crashed at some point.
Provided Americans keep the pressure on, like the people of Reddit said, this fight is far from over.
Feature Image via YouTube
