Senate Bill Would Kill Net Neutrality

On the heels of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's move to reverse much of the Obama administration's controversial net neutrality rules, Senate Republicans have introduced a bill to completely eradicate them.

"Few areas of our economy have been as dynamic and innovative as the internet," said Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee, who introduced Monday's bill. "But now this engine of growth is threatened by the Federal Communications Commission's 2015 Open Internet Order, which would put federal bureaucrats in charge of engineering the Internet's infrastructure."

Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Ron Johnson, R-Wis., Rand Paul, R-Ky., Thom Tillis, R-N.C., Ben Sasse, R-Neb., and James Inhofe, R-Okla., co-sponsored the bill, The Hill reported.

Pai's plan would return regulatory jurisdiction of internet broadband providers from the FCC  to the Federal Trade Commission. The FCC is likely to consider the proposal this month, according to The Hill.

Proponents of net neutrality, passed in 2015, say it prevents broadband providers from censoring content, while opponents say it hurts businesses.

"There wasn't a rash of internet service providers blocking customers from accessing the content, applications, or services of their choice," Pai argued last week. "No, it was all about politics."

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