Boston (October 5, 2020) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, released the following statement about the latest effort by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to undermine net neutrality. In April, Senator Markey led 27 colleagues in calling on the FCC to consider how repealing net neutrality could negatively impact public safety, universal access, and broadband competition.

“The FCC was wrong when it repealed the net neutrality rules, and it’s wrong again today,” said Senator Markey. “By failing to course-correct what the D.C. Circuit Court accurately described as an action ‘unhinged from the realities of modern broadband service,’ the Commission is continuing to take us down a path towards a less free and open internet. The FCC should restore the Open Internet Order and the Commission’s clear authority over broadband in order to protect not only the free flow of ideas, but also to make clear that the FCC has the power to ensure public safety and promote broadband access.

“At a time when the coronavirus pandemic has made us more dependent than ever on broadband and wildfires are devastating the West, we need the FCC to step up, not double down on its past failures to promote the public interest. This fight will not end until we reverse the Trump FCC’s wrongheaded decision and put net neutrality back on the books.” 

Last year, Senator Markey introduced the Save the Internet Act which codifies the FCC’s 2015 Open Internet Order. In 2018, Senator Markey’s Congressional Review Act (CRA) Resolution of Disapproval to save net neutrality passed the Senate with bipartisan support.