House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Monday that House Democrats plan to introduce a bill that would replace the open internet protections that were in place until the Federal Communications Commission repealed them in December 2017.
The Hill reports that Pelosi wrote a letter to her colleagues advising that the bill, called the “Save the Internet Act,” would be introduced in the House and the Senate on Wednesday. Just what will be included in the bill has not yet been disclosed.
The open internet rules were put in place by the Obama administration in 2015. The Trump administration repealed those rules over a year ago, much to the chagrin of the public, as well as many lawmakers.
Multiple lawsuits have been filed by consumer advocates as well as the attorneys general in 21 states. In the meantime, many state lawmakers have instituted legislation on their own that mimics those internet protections for their constituents.
The Obama rules reclassified broadband as a telecommunications service, opening the industry up to stricter regulations that protect consumers. The GOP has been staunchly opposed to this, and as The Hill notes, they considered the Obama-era rules to be “overly burdensome.”
Keeping the internet open and free and accessible by all is a human rights issue.
Bravo to Pelosi and company for taking up the fight and working to do something about it.