House and Senate Democrats on Wednesday unveiled a new two-page bill called the “Save the Internet Act” that proposes reinstating net neutrality rules that were repealed two years ago.
“86 percent of Americans oppose the Trump assault on net neutrality, including 82 percent of republicans,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a press conference announcing the bill. “With the Save The Internet Act, Democrats are honoring of the will of the people and restoring the protections that do this: Stop unjust discriminatory practices by ISPs that try to throttle the public browsing speed, block your internet access and increase your costs, giving to entrepreneurs and smalls businesses a level playing field and ensuring American innovation can continue to be the ency of the world.”
Senator Chuck Schumer said he expects the bill to pass both the Senate and the House.
“Last spring, our colleagues in the United States Senate were given that choice to side with the average person, rather than the big special interests, to side with protecting consumers and entrepreneurs,” he said. “Unfortunately, all but three Senate Republicans voted on behalf of special interests. It passed the Senate, but unfortunately a Republican House of Representatives shelved it. Now we have a Democratic house and Republicans have a second chance to right the Trump Administration’s wrong.”
Speaker Pelosi said the bill will come to the floor in a matter of weeks. “We want this to be as bipartisan as possible because we know it is so in the public view,” she said.
The bill, which is also supported by FCC commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, would need to pass the Democrat-controlled house and Republican-controlled Senate, and signed by President Trump, in order to change a December FCC ruling that killed the Open Internet Order and net neutrality rules.
But it seems unlikely for this bill to pass unless it’s used for negotiation on other topics. President Trump appointed FCC chairman Ajit Pai, who helped remove net neutrality rules in the first place.
In December 2017, the FCC repealed the 2015 Open Internet Order, which required internet service providers to treat all internet traffic as equal and reinstated ISPs under a Title 1 classification that allowed them to set pricing and prioritize some types of internet traffic.
Proponents of net neutrality have long argued that treating internet data equal is best for consumers and will increase innovation. They feared that, without neutrality, consumers would have to pay extra to their internet providers just to access certain websites or apps, or might have to pay more to get access to enough bandwidth for streaming services.
Net neutrality detractors have suggested that certain industries could benefit from paid prioritization, like autonomous vehicles and medical systems, where human lives might be on the line, and which require constant and fast internet connections.
Even the FCC was divided over the 2017 vote.
FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said during the 2017 vote that the decision “put this Federal Communication Commission on the wrong side of history” and called for the government to “sustain this foundation of openness.” FCC chairman Ajit Pai, who broke a tie vote on the issue, said “If our rules deter a massive infrastructure investment that we need, eventually we will pay the price in terms of less innovation. … It is time for us to restore internet freedom.”
