Haven't done a diary on Senator Ed Markey (D. MA) in a while and I am happy to report this:
http://www.boston.com/...
Senator Edward J. Markey filed a bill Monday to restore so-called “net neutrality” to the Internet following a court ruling last month that opened the door for service providers to control content and grant priority access to bigger players.
Markey has been a long-time proponent of open access, introducing a net neutrality bill in 2009.
The Federal Communications Commission adopted similar rules in 2010, requiring service providers to treat all content equally. But those rules were struck down, at least temporarily, by the US District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. - Boston.com, 2/3/14
Here's some more info:
http://www.bostonglobe.com/...
The Federal Communications Commission adopted similar rules in 2010, requiring service providers to treat all content equally. But those rules were struck down, at least temporarily, by the US District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
Markey and other proponents of open Internet argue that it promotes innovation from smaller firms, keeps prices down, and prevents censorship of unpopular or unprofitable ideas. Some telecom companies have argued that neutrality rules have prevented them from offering better and cheaper service for the most popular Internet sites. Opponents have also argued that they are an undue regulation on business.
Markey’s bill would keep the open Internet rule until the FCC adopts new rules that would pass legal muster. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has said he supports net neutrality as has President Obama. - Boston Globe, 2/3/14
Markey is not alone in his battle to restore net neutrality:
http://www.pcworld.com/...
The new bill, called the Open Internet Preservation Act, would restore the FCC’s net neutrality, or open Internet, rules. The rules would remain in effect until the FCC takes new action on net neutrality, after the court left open the agency’s authority to pass new rules if it finds a new way to write them.
Among the nine Democratic cosponsors in the House are Representatives Henry Waxman, Anna Eshoo, Zoe Lofgren and Doris Matsui of California. Among the six Senate cosponsors are Senators Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Al Franken of Minnesota and Ron Wyden of Oregon.
The bill faces an uphill battle in the House, where majority Republicans pushed to repeal the FCC’s net neutrality rules before the appeals court threw them out.
“The Internet is an engine of economic growth because it has always been an open platform for competition and innovation,” Waxman, senior Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said in a statement. “Our bill very simply ensures that consumers can continue to access the content and applications of their choosing online.”
Waxman called on the FCC to take action on net neutrality, but said the bill would “protect” consumers and innovators in the meantime.
The bill may meet a more receptive audience in the Democrat-controlled Senate. - PC World, 2/3/14
Rep. Anna Eshoo (D. CA-18), is next in line to succeed Henry Waxman (D. CA) in taking over the House Energy and Commerce committee, which has jurisdiction over electronic communications, cybersecurity and the Federal Communications Commission:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
The announcement that she is seeking to replace Waxman is already making waves in a town where seniority rules. If the rest of her Democratic colleagues in the chamber approve, she'll have leapfrogged not only over the more senior Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) — who also said Monday he's seeking Waxman's role — but also over Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), who outranks both Eshoo and Pallone and served as the top liberal on the committee from 2007 to 2009. Dingell had the title snatched from him by Waxman in 2008. Tech policy insiders say Dingell is considering whether to pursue his former position.
Despite her rank, Eshoo is a friend of House minority leader Nancy Pelosi and has become a high-profile lawmaker in her own right, particularly on technology issues. Like Waxman, Eshoo has been an outspoken advocate on net neutrality. In 2009, two years before the Federal Communications Commission issued its controversial open Internet order, Eshoo helped author a bill that would have outlawed Web traffic discrimination entirely. Last month, the co-chair of the Congressional Internet Caucus reiterated her stance on net neutrality after the D.C. Circuit ruled against the FCC, vowing to "introduce legislation clarifying the Commission's authority to ensure a free and open Internet, while preventing the use of Internet 'fast lanes' or other discriminatory tools." Monday's bill appears to be the product of that promise.
In addition to Internet regulation, the California Democrat has also led the charge on e-mail spam, broadband deployment, electric vehicle infrastructure and immigration, the last of which is extremely near to the hearts of tech companies that depend on high-skilled foreign workers. Her district covers tech-heavy parts of the Bay Area, including Palo Alto and Mountain View, the home of Google. (Googlers, including executive chairman Eric Schmidt, altogether donated more than $20,000 to Eshoo's campaign committee last year, according to a review of public records.) - Washington Post, 2/3/14
If you would like more information on the Open Internet Preservation Act, please contact Senator Markey's office for more information:
(202) 224-2742
http://www.markey.Senate.gov/...
And as a way of saying thank you, how about donating or getting involved with markey's re-election bid so he can continue to fight for a free access internet:
http://www.edmarkey.com/