US Senate passes resolution to preserve net neutrality

The US Senate has passed a resolution to reverse the abolition of net neutrality. In principle, the American rules guaranteeing net neutrality will be scrapped on June 11, but the Senate wants to put a stop to that.

Senator Ed Markey, the author of the resolution to preserve net neutrality, reports on Twitter that the Senate has passed the resolution. There were 52 votes in favor and 47 against. All 47 Democratic senators, two independent members and three Republican senators voted in favor of the resolution.

The passed resolution looks like a victory for Democrats and those dissatisfied with the scrapping of strict net neutrality rules, but there’s a good chance it will ultimately prove to be just a symbolic victory. The House of Representatives must now vote on the resolution, and Republicans have a comfortable majority there. In total, all Democratic members of the House and an additional 25 Republican colleagues must vote to reinstate net neutrality rules. In addition, President Trump can still veto it.

The vote on Democratic Senator Ed Markey’s resolution came under the Congressional Review Act, which gives the Senate the ability to overturn a decision by an independent agency, such as the FCC. The FCC voted to abolish net neutrality on December 14, 2017: the three Republican committee members were in favor of the abolition, the two Democratic members voted against.