Everything good that millions of us fought so hard for and finally achieved when the Federal Communications Commission voted for an open internet is now coming to a screeching halt under popular vote loser Donald Trump and his new FCC lackey chairman, Ajit Pai.
Mr. Pai took a first swipe at net neutrality rules designed to ensure equal access to content on the internet. He stopped nine companies from providing discounted high-speed internet service to low-income individuals. He withdrew an effort to keep prison phone rates down, and he scrapped a proposal to break open the cable box market.
In total, as the chairman of the F.C.C., Mr. Pai released about a dozen actions in the last week, many buried in the agency’s website and not publicly announced, stunning consumer advocacy groups and telecom analysts. They said Mr. Pai’s message was clear: The F.C.C., an independent agency, will mirror the Trump administration’s rapid unwinding of government regulations that businesses fought against during the Obama administration.
Let's remember what that landmark decision by the FCC for an open internet meant. In Tim Berners Lee's words in a video played at that landmark hearing, "it's about consumer rights, free speech, and democracy." And all of those things won on February 26, 2015.
Consumer rights. Free speech. Democracy. Everything the Trump regime is trying to destroy.
So let's give Mr. Pai a reminder of what getting 6 million comments on an issue is like. Call or write the FCC and tell him he can't sneak our open internet away.