Net neutrality activists are celebrating as Democratic senators clear key hurdle to voting against the FCC

By Brian Fung January 9 at 12:33 PM

When the Federal Communications Commission voted last month to deregulate Internet providers by eliminating the agency's net neutrality rules, opponents of the decision vowed to fight it in Congress and in court. Now, those who are pushing for the FCC's vote to be overturned say they've won an initial victory.

Senate Democrats led by Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) have now amassed 40 co-sponsors for a congressional measure that, if successful, would invalidate the FCC's recent vote. In doing so, the lawmakers passed a critical 30-member threshold allowing them to use the Congressional Review Act to seek to overrule the FCC.

Clearing that hurdle paves the way for a full vote on the Senate floor — potentially forcing every senator to take a position on the FCC's rollback of the net neutrality rules. (The rules, passed under a Democratic FCC in 2015, banned Internet providers from blocking websites, slowing others, or speeding up apps and services that pay extra money for the privilege.)

“Congress has the power through the Congressional Review Act to overturn the FCC’s actions,” Markey said in a news conference Tuesday. “We will spend the coming months building our grass-roots support for the CRA.”

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