Senate Democrats say they’ll fight to keep net neutrality rules in place.
Six Democrats in the Senate say the Trump administration will have a major fight on its hands if Republicans try to dismantle net neutrality protections.
At a press conference Tuesday, Ed Markey of Massachusetts led a group of senators that included Charles Schumer of New York, Ron Wyden of Oregon, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Al Franken of Minnesota and Patrick Leahy of Vermont in supporting «strong net neutrality rules. » The group said it will not allow action by the Federal Communications Commission or Congress that «undermines those rules. »
«Despite what the cable companies and Republicans say about net neutrality, there is nothing broken that needs fixing,» said Sen. Markey, a member of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.
Markey added that he’d oppose any regulatory efforts to repeal, or any refusal to enforce, existing rules, as well as any legislative efforts to roll back the rules. Schumer, who leads the Senate Democrats, promised «fierce resistance» if Republicans try to roll back protections.
The press conference comes as new FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, a Republican appointed by President Donald Trump, has promised to dismantle the current net neutrality regulation. Pai and Republicans in Congress have opposed the rules since they were adopted in 2015. Pai hasn’t yet said how he’ll weaken net neutrality regulations, but last week he closed an FCC net neutrality investigation into so-called zero rating plans , in which some services aren’t counted as part of a monthly data cap.
