Democratic Lawmakers want the FCC to regulate the Internet

Democratic lawmakers in the nation’s Capitol are pushing to expand the Federal Communications Commission‘s authority over the Internet by restoring the commission’s so-called “net neutrality” rules struck down by a federal court in January. 

Democrats in the House and the Senate on Monday introduced the Open Internet Preservation Act of 2014, a bill aimed at reversing the D.C. Circuit Court‘s decision in January to repeal the FCC’s rules barring Internet service providers from blocking or slowing down lawful content and services.

The court’s decision left intact the FCC’s rule requiring Internet service providers to disclose how they manage Internet traffic, but both sides of the debate were left reeling over the implications of the decision’s impact on the agency’s regulatory authorities. 

Defenders of the FCC’s net neutrality rules claim the regulation preserves the First Amendment against Internet service providers, despite the First Amendment’s purpose as a check against government power.

Verizon, the plaintiff in the lawsuit, also framed its case as a First Amendment issue, however, by claiming the regulation — which dictated how ISPs manage their traffic — infringed on the company’s free speech since Internet service providers transmit content over their networks.

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