Democrats just won’t give up on Net Neutrality, as it is a great way to put a massive government control on something that everyone depends on, and, quite frankly, are hooked on
House Democrats Pass Bill Reinstating Obama-Era Net Neutrality Rules
House Democrats passed H.R. 1644, the Save the Internet Act, 232-190, featuring unanimous Democrat support and nearly unanimous Republican opposition to the bill–only one Republican, Rep. Bill Posey (R-FL), supported the bill.
Even though the bill passed through Congress’ lower chamber, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said the bill was “dead on arrival†on Tuesday.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) passed the “Restoring Internet Freedom Order†in December 2017, which repealed the Obama-era net neutrality rules. The Obama-era rules prevented Internet service providers (ISPs) from blocking, throttling, or prioritizing content on their networks; the Internet Freedom Order requires ISPs to disclose their policies on blocking, throttling, and unfair prioritization, which the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) could then litigate unfair and deceptive practices.
Since the FCC’s repeal of the 2015 net neutrality rules, Internet speeds have skyrocketed. Internet speed-test company Ookla released a study one year after net neutrality’s repeal and found that Internet speed increased by 35.8 percent, while upload speeds have increased by 22 percent compared to 2017.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) released a statement Wednesday slamming the Democrats’ bill, contending that it would put more government control over the Internet.
“When Democrats voted for their so-called ‘Save the Internet Act,’ they didn’t vote to encourage innovation or improve internet access. Instead, they offered their favorite – and indeed their only – policy solution: more government control,†McCarthy said.
Why are Democrats so obsessed with this version of Net Neutrality? It doesn’t help, it turns the Internet into a 1940’s era public utility, like the phone companies. Again, it’s about government controlling everything. All the little worker bee Democrats who love their Internet service should think really, really hard about the consequences in their own lives if NN in this form was actually implemented.
