Senator Al Franken issued a letter to Ajit Pai (new Chair of the Federal Communications Commission – FCC) after Commissioner Pai stated his opposition to Net Neutrality which letter ended with this comment that “Net neutrality is the First Amendment issue of our time, and I will fight to protect it every step of the way.” The Senator’s January 30, 2017 press release about the letter was entitled “Sen. Franken Presses New FCC Chairman to Protect Net Neutrality” and his letter included these comments about the background on why Net Neutrality should be retained:
Two years ago, American consumers and businesses celebrated the FCC’s landmark vote to preserve a free and open internet by reclassifying broadband providers as common carriers under Title II of the Communications Act.
The vote came after the FCC received nearly four million public comments, the majority of which supported strong net neutrality rules, making it the most commented-on FCC issue by three times.
Consumers urged the Commission to protect their unfettered and affordable access to content; a wide range of advocacy organizations pressed the Commission to ensure all voices and ideas on the internet receive equal treatment from broadband providers, regardless of how deep any speaker’s pocket is; and small businesses asked that the internet remain a level playing field so that they can continue to compete with larger companies
I’ve been blogging about Net Neutrality since my first blog on August 1, 2008 “Proposed Net Neutrality Bill in the US Congress” and the debate about the cost of Internet usage continues!