A FIGHT CONTINUES TO RESTORE NET NEUTRALITY

(01/20/2018)
The fight over net neutrality is not going away in Washington and around the nation.

The US Senate Democrats are set to roll-back the Trump administration decision. The roll-back will created a Wild West where ISPs are free to offer premium service to only the wealthiest customers while average consumers are left with far inferior options.

It is a fight to protect users, but so far, big money has won with the Trump administration.

Following the Federal Communication Commission's vote to repeal internet regulations, a group of senators is punching back.

Mostly Democrats are signed onto an effort that would reverse the FCC's decision. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) joined the crusade and says this is about keeping the internet free and open.

Sen. Cortez Masto (D-NV) says small businesses could fall by the wayside without net neutrality.

Obama era regulations prevented internet service providers from choosing how fast or slow internet traffic could travel.

"It can't be throttled by those companies. It can't be monetized in any way whatsoever that throttles it or limits access," said Cortez Masto.

The pro-active group is hoping to force a vote to rollback the FCC's decision. She says without net neutrality, rural areas will be negatively affected, education will be harmed and small businesses that don't have enough capital to pay providers for faster service will fall by the wayside.

Others on Capitol Hill are sticking by the FCC's decision on net neutrality. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) says the repeal was necessary. The elimination of net neutrality is essentially a economic boom for companies to meter and charge for better service.

To reverse the FCC's decision will require approval of both houses of Congress and the President's signature.

See WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING - Trump Administration Dumps Internet's "Net Neutrality," Big Money Wins