Net Neutrality: It’s Not Over Yet

Dec. 10 is the deadline for Congress to vote on the Congressional Review Act (CRA), which has the potential to reverse the FCC’s repeal and preserve net neutrality.  A CRA resolution passed the Senate in May. If it passes both houses of Congress, it still has to be signed into law by President Trump to officially turn back the repeal.

The FCC’s decision to repeal net neutrality rules has sparked protests from large corporations and average users alike. Thousands of internet users, heavy hitting companies like Tumblr, Etsy, and Sonos, as well as big name celebrities like Tom Morello and Evangeline Lilly have banded together to sign an open letter to Congress in support of net neutrality.

And now to add to the sticky wicket, FCC Chairman (and former Verizon attorney) Ajit Pai has admitted to Russian interference in the debate. About half a million comments sent to the agency about the debate came from Russian addresses.

In case you haven’t heard, Net Neutrality is the principle that all traffic on the internet should be treated equally, regardless of whether you’re checking Facebook, posting pictures to Instagram or streaming movies from Netflix or Amazon. Supporters of net neutrality say the internet as we know it may not exist much longer without the protections, but critics (mostly corporations that have mega bucks to gain if it goes away) have said the rules “stifled investment.”

Let’s see what happens this week.  Crossing fingers…

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Photo Credit: Michael Candelori / Shutterstock.com