FCC Plans Net Neutrality Rollback for June 11; Senate Democrats Plan a Key Challenge

May 11, 2018

The Federal Communications Commission says that its order ending an era of "net neutrality" — the rules that restrict Internet service providers' ability to slow down or speed up users' access to specific websites and apps – will take effect on June 11.

The FCC named a date that is one day before the Senate's June 12 deadline to vote on a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution that was filed by Sen. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass. The resolution aims to overturn the FCC's repeal of the Obama administration's Open Internet Order of 2015, which officially established net neutrality.

Formally called a Resolution of Disapproval, the CRA has the support of every member of the Democratic caucus in the Senate, along with Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. It also has the support of Tim Berners-Lee, the father of the web, and a number of businesses, from Reddit and Tumblr to Wikimedia.

To force action on Markey's CRA, Senate Democrats filed a discharge petition on Wednesday, setting up a vote that Markey says should take place next week.

Read more at KQED Public Media

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