Senate Democrats Get Enough Co-Sponsors To Fight For Net Neutrality

The fight for net neutrality is far from over, with Senate Democrats finally getting enough co-sponsors that would allow them to take the fight for net neutrality on the floor. This is not a guarantee that the Federal Communications Commission’s decision, led by FCC chair Ajit Pai will be overturned. However, it does give proponents of a free and open internet hope. What’s more, it’s not just Blue states that are fighting for net neutrality now as Nebraska just proposed legislation to protect it.

The support that the Democrat sponsors pushing the bill got is enough to trigger a vote, CNN reports. Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts is leading the charge and in a press conference, noted how this move is made possible thanks to the efforts of younger voters.

"Millennials are energized," Sen. Markey said. "They know the loss of net neutrality means the loss of control of the internet, which is oxygen to them. We cannot let that happen."

As the mid-term elections draw near, Democrats are trying to seize the moment by capitalizing on the interest that younger voters have on net neutrality. A vast majority of them are for keeping the internet free from ISP control, which is basically what the FCC under Pai is pushing for.

Once the vote is pushed, it only needs 51 votes to enact the motion. Unfortunately, the current makeup of the Senate is 51 Republicans to 49 Democrats. This means that at least two Republicans would need to flip, assuming all Democrats would even vote yes.

If net neutrality is expunged on a federal level, however, Nebraska can now be counted among a growing number of states to uphold the rules, Fortune reports. This makes it the first state that’s controlled by Republicans to go against the wish of the party, which has always been anti-net neutrality.