Democrats, who all but sank major communications reform legislation in the previous congressional session over the issue of so-called ‘Net neutrality, marked the first day of the new Congress by introducing a bill that will mandate ‘Net neutrality, which is intended to guarantee the equal accessibility and flow of content over the Internet.
The Internet Freedom Preservation Act, sponsored by Sens. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), “would ensure that broadband service providers do not discriminate against Internet content, applications or services by offering preferential treatment,” according to a statement by Dorgan.
Without a federal mandate for ‘Net neutrality, Dorgan said, broadband providers could be “gatekeepers capable of deciding which content can get through to consumers, and which content providers could get special deals, faster speeds and better access to the consumer.”
The bill “marks another step toward ensuring the fate of the Internet lies in the hands of its users and not the hands of a few gatekeepers,” Snowe said in a statement. “The tide has turned in the debate between those who seek to maintain equality and those who would benefit from the creation of a toll road on the Internet superhighway.”
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