US SENATE BARELY VOTES AGAINST TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ELIMINATING NET NEUTRALITY

(05/18/2018)
FOLLOW THE MONEY

By Bob Weaver

The Senate has voted to kill a Federal Communications Commission rule that repealed the Obama administration's ban on internet providers blocking or slowing down certain content.

Three Republicans joined Democrats 52-47 to kill the Trump administration effort that would allow unequal treatment to web traffic.

Millions of American signed petitions protesting the move.

The elimination of Net Neutrality would have allowed corporations and business to meter and sell content and access at higher costs.

Back in December, the FCC repealed the "net neutrality" rules.

The Obama-era rule prevented providers such as AT&T, Comcast and Verizon from interfering with internet traffic and favoring their own sites and apps. Critics, including the Trump administration, said over-regulation was stifling innovation.

If Net Neutrality passed it would means multi-millions of dollars to the biggest corporations. The measure is expected to return to Congress for another try.

Telecommunications companies lobbied hard to overturn the 2015 rule, saying it discouraged investment and innovation. The FCC said in repealing it last December that it was simply restoring the "light-touch framework" that has governed the internet for most of its existence.