From Free Press press release issued March 9, 2011:
Today, the U.S. House passed a “Resolution of Disapproval” that would strip the FCC of any authority to protect our right to free speech online. This resolution will bar the FCC from enforcing its already weak Net Neutrality rule and from acting in any way to protect Internet users against corporate abuses.
Following the vote, S. Derek Turner, research director of the Free Press Action Fund made the following statement:
“We are deeply disappointed that Congress has chosen to move forward with this dangerous overreach that would hamstring the FCC and leave Internet users unprotected from discrimination online. If this resolution becomes law, companies like Comcast, AT&T and Verizon will have free rein to censor free speech or block access to any website.
“There may be much to dislike about what this FCC did and how it did it, but the fundamental point here is we cannot simply set up a false choice between what the FCC did and no policy at all.”
It is possible for the Senate to kill the resolution by getting 51 members to stand up for online freedom. Go here to take action. Note that this “take action” was first published when there was a danger that the “Resolution of Disapproval” would pass the House. Today, however, the Republican dominated House has actually passed the Resolution of Disapproval.
