Net neutrality has been a divisive issue in America politics. Fifty senators have endorsed a measure to overturn the Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality repeal.
That leaves the senators just one vote shy to vote a resolution of disapproval.
Net Neutrality Repeal
The FCC repealed net neutrality in December citing government overreach on the internet service provider industry. The resolution is supported by all 49 Democratic senators and one Republican senator, Susan Collins of Maine.
In order to pass the resolution, Democrats will need the support of at least one more Republican senator. Even after passing the Senate, the resolution will need to pass the House of Representatives which is controlled by Republicans, and President Trump — who appointed FCC chairman Ajit Pai, who spearheaded the repeal of net neutrality.
Efforts to have this pass in the Senate may be fruitless. Other parts of the government haven't shown the same amount of support for preserving net neutrality.
The resolution introduced by Democratic senators would overturn the FCC decision, and stop the agency from making similar decision in the future.
Net neutrality came to the forefront in recent years. Since 2015 it has survived lawsuits from telecommunication companies that opposed the law.
Silicon Valley Pushback
Just like the telecommunication companies that sued the FCC over the decision to implement net neutrality, Silicon Valley trade group The Internet Association said it will sue the agency over the repeal.
The Internet Association represents companies such as Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Uber. What gets lost in all of the outrage about the repeal is that the it still has not become law. Until the rule is added to the Federal Registry, all of the resolutions and lawsuits cannot be officially filed against the repeal.
"We take several actions in this Order to restore Internet freedom," said the FCC in the ruling of the repeal. "First, we end utility-style regulation of the Internet in favor of the market-based policies necessary to preserve the future of Internet freedom."
The Internet Association countered the ruling with a statement.
"The final version of Chairman Pai's rule, as expected, dismantles popular net neutrality protections for consumers. This rule defies the will of a bipartisan majority of Americans and fails to preserve a free and open Internet," said the Internet Association. "IA intends to act as an intervenor in judicial action against this order and, along with our member companies, will continue our push to restore strong, enforceable net neutrality protections through a legislative solution."
