Senate approves bill in bid to retain U.S. net neutrality

Democrats in the US Senate forced a vote on net neutrality today and walked away victorious. Members of the Senate voted 52-47 to retain the net neutrality regulations put in place by the Obama administration that were later nixed by the FCC. The margin of victory was large than expected, with three Republicans, two independents, and 47 Democrats all voting in favor of keeping the rules. Though the bill has passed the Senate, it still has to get through the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and, if it succeeds there, President Trump. Obama’s FCC established firm rules governing broadband service as a utility under Title II. As such, paid prioritization, fast lanes, blocking, and throttling were strictly prohibited. The Republican-led FCC has largely scaled back those rules, preferring to let the industry govern itself with “light regulation” from the FTC rather than the FCC. For the moment, the FCC’s repeal of net neutrality will go into effect on June 11.

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