Network Neutrality

[Commentary] Today network neutrality is often described as the principle that internet service providers (ISPs)—and only ISPs—treat all data on the internet the same. But it wasn’t always this way and shouldn’t be this way going forward.

[Commentary] The Senate voted 52–47 to revive an Obama administration rule ensuring equal treatment for online traffic—the so-called “net neutrality” rule recently erased by the Trump Federal Communications Commission. But the vote wasn't really about "net neutrality." Instead, it was a deeply political, bipartisan call—three Republican Senators signed on—for internet freedom writ large. Here's why: "Net neutrality," these days, is shorthand for "We don't like how much unconstrained power Comcast, Spectrum, AT&T, Verizon, and CenturyLink have over us." 

[Commentary]  The Republican Senate's passage May 16 of a measure that would reinstate the Federal Communications Commission's network neutrality rules is a strong indication that support for those regulations is gaining steam. Net neutrality started as an obscure policy debate, but it has become a mainstream issue, and the more people know about it, the more they support it, regardless of their political identification.

Federal Trade Commission Chairman Joseph Simons told Congress that his agency has the "resources and capability" to enforce network neutrality and under "the right circumstances" paid prioritization, blocking and throttling of internet content by Internet service providers that might advantage or disadvantage particular parts of the Internet could all be seen as unfair practices." His remarks came at a Senate Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee hearing on the FTC's and Federal Communications Commission's budget requests. 

For well over a decade, the debate on how best to ensure protections for broadband customers has bounced around Washington, DC. Although Congressional Members have often shared their opinions on network neutrality, few have ever gotten the chance to cast a vote on the issue. That changed this week when the Senate voted 52-47 to adopt Senate Joint Resolution 52. S.J. Res 52, introduced by Sen.

Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA) has filed a discharge petition, which would force a vote on the House resolution to restore net neutrality rules. The petition needs 218 votes -- which means a couple dozen Republican will need to support it. There are currently  235 Republicans and 193 Democrats in the House, with seven vacancies. Republicans say that they support net neutrality, but not under the Title II regime used for the Federal Communications Commission's 2015 rules. Republicans continue to try to get Democrats to drop the resolution and work on bipartisan net neutrality legislation.

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey met with several Sens to discuss issues such as data privacy and network neutrality. "Pleasure to meet with @Twitter’s @jack today," Sen Ed Markey (D-MA) tweeted. Sen Markey also wrote that Sens Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Maria Cantwell (D-WW) attended the meeting with Dorsey as well. Dorsey also met with top Republican lawmakers including Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD).

[Commentary] How can Republicans get right with network neutrality?

Step One: Know your history: At its heart, net neutrality is a competition issue. From Roosevelt to Reagan, we are the party of competition and should never cede that ground. Net neutrality principles and free trade principles are based on the exact same market theory. 

Step Two: Stream Ahead: Americans love streaming and reject cable.

House Communications Subcommittee Ranking Member Mike Doyle (D-PA) joined House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Sen Ed Markey (D-MA) in announcing that, with the passage of legislation to overrule the Federal Communications Commission’s order eliminating Network Neutrality in the Senate, the next step must be passage of this legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives. 

After the Senate's vote to restore the Federal Communications Commission's 2015 net neutrality rules, everyone seemed to have an opinion.