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Rep. Waters on FCC Vote to End Net Neutrality: The Fight is Not Over

December 14, 2017

Rep. Waters on FCC Vote to End Net Neutrality: The Fight is Not Over

WASHINGTON -- Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA-43), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, released the following statement today in response to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) passage of Chairman Pai's plan to repeal net neutrality:

"Today's FCC vote in favor of Chairman Pai's plan to repeal net neutrality, which will allow internet service providers (ISPs) like Comcast, AT&T and Verizon to restrict their customers' access to certain websites, slow download and streaming speeds, raise prices for use of various applications and devices, or worse, rob American citizens of our 1st Amendment right to share our views freely online, is shameful. This is yet another decision by the Trump Administration to ignore millions of Americans who have raised their voices in support a free and open internet, and, instead, prioritize the profits of large corporations and powerful special interest groups.

"As a champion of net neutrality, I have fought to ensure that all consumers have equal access to internet content and the ability to express their views freely online. In 2010, I wrote to the FCC in support of net neutrality rules that better considered the needs of minority communities. In 2011, I raised concerns about how the rapid concentration of the media industry might result in the promotion of some content over others, in violation of net neutrality and at the expense of minority-owned and minority-produced programming. In 2015, I urged the agency to commit to reclassifying ISPs as Title II ‘common carriers,' a designation that allowed for the regulatory framework to create robust net neutrality rules. The FCC listened then, creating the most comprehensive net neutrality regulations to date. In the wake of Chairman Pai's repeal of those rules, I am extremely disappointed that I am again forced to defend a concept, which all three branches of government have debated and vetted over the better part of the last decade.

"A free and open internet is a necessity in the 21st century. It allows entrepreneurs to start and grow new businesses, individuals to express their creativity and views online, and diverse communities all across the country to communicate, organize and even mobilize. My constituents have consistently urged me to support net neutrality, and I stand with them in saying this fight is not over. I will continue to work in support of an internet that allows every American to freely communicate and access information."