US Senate supports net neutrality
Launched during Obama's term, later abolished by the Donald Trump government, net neutrality continues in the middle of the political tide. Just recently the Senate approved an initiative that seeks to reverse the abolition of net neutrality; the principle that protected the internet as a public service and that was abolished under the Donald Trump administration.
By a narrow margin of 52 votes in favor and 47 votes against, the Upper House managed to overcome the first obstacle to end the new rule of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) through a mechanism of Congress to reverse decisions of federal agencies (AVE).
The success of the initiative in the Senate was possible due to the small majority of the Republicans over the Democrats, from 51 to 49, and the absence of the conservative John McCain caused by illness, which allowed them to approve it with only the additional support of three legislators from the other party.
The standard that protected net neutrality was approved by the FCC under the government of Barack Obama in 2015 and eliminated last December with Trump as president.
This regulation prevented Internet providers from blocking or slowing down traffic in any portal at will, for economic reasons, guaranteeing the network as a public service and respecting equal access to it.
With the new regulation, which will go into effect on June 11 of this year, the companies that offer Internet services could prioritize some platforms over others, and even block them, regardless of the content in question and thus affect communication media or portals like Netflix.
Since the abolition of net neutrality was voted on last December 14, the decision has raised the rejection of the Democratic opposition, some Republican voices and content providers, while multiple states have developed initiatives to maintain that principle.
Now, the initiative will need to go through the lower house, where Republicans have a comfortable majority, and by the hands of the president to achieve the goal of reversing the rule, something that seems unlikely.
From both parties, many voices have bet to reach an agreement between the two parties to develop legislation that will end the bipartisan disputes and give stability to the sector.
