Support for net neutrality starts to go bipartisan
by David Atkins
The pressure is mounting on behalf of net neutrality not just among Democrats, but among Republicans too:
Another FCC commissioner called for a delay of the agency’s fast-approaching net neutrality vote, while top Internet companies and venture capitalists took even more shots Thursday at Chairman Tom Wheeler’s controversial plan.
Wheeler’s proposal, which isn’t final, already has sparked a firestorm of criticism because it could allow Internet service providers like AT&T and Verizon to charge companies for faster delivery of their content.
Inside the FCC, GOP Commissioner Ajit Pai on Thursday said he had “grave concerns about the chairman’s proposal.” Pai, like most Republicans, never has backed strong FCC net neutrality rules — but his statement put him in the company of Democratic Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, a vocal supporter of open Internet protections who also asked Wheeler to push the vote back.
The cynic in me says that Republicans like Ajit Pai are only starting to voice their concerns after a huge pushback from a number of corporations who would stand to lose big to the greedy telecoms over it. We seem to be in an era where the only successful pushbacks against abject corporate greed are when other corporations might also take the hit.
But I suppose any help is better than none.
.