CONGRESS CAN OVERTURN THE FCC DECISION ON NET NEUTRALITY &The FCC’s vote repealing its net neutrality rules is finally official. Here’s what happens now. 25&22FEB18

THIS from SumOfUs, one of 22 organizations working together to overturn the FCC decision ending net neutrality. Click the link to sign the petition to Congress telling them to restore net neutrality.

CONGRESS MUST STOP THE FCC'S PLAN TO DESTROY NET NEUTRALITY

You’ve probably heard that Trump’s FCC voted to dismantle net neutrality rules, effectively handing the internet on a silver platter to Big Cable. But what you may not know is that Congress has the power to overturn the FCC’s decision and save net neutrality.  Alongside dozens of partner organizations and millions of concerned consumers like you, we’ve got huge momentum to preserve the open internet we know and love. This weekend, the 50th U.S. senator announced their support of a “resolution of disapproval” to overturn the FCC’s move: putting us just one vote away from passing the resolution in the Senate.  Help save the free and open internet: tell Congress to vote to overturn the FCC's repeal of net neutrality. For years, Verizon, Comcast, and the rest of Big Cable have been plotting a corporate takeover of the world wide web. Now, Trump’s FCC has given them what they want: the power to create internet “fast lanes” that prioritize, block, or censor content online. We’ve fought this battle before—and won—like when over one million Americans came together to successfully push the FCC to restore federal protections for net neutrality in 2014. And we still have the mass support to fend off the latest attack on the open internet: 75% of Republicans and 83% of the country overall want to keep net neutrality rules. Sen. Ed Markey’s repeal resolution already has the support of all 49 members of the Democratic caucus and one Republican. But with Big Cable campaign contributions raining down on Congress, we’ll have to fight like hell to make sure Congress stands with internet users like us, not the world wide web’s most powerful corporations. Tell Congress: don't hand control of the internet to Comcast and Verizon. Cosponsor the resolution restoring net neutrality!  SIGN THE PETITION  Thanks for all that you do, Salma, Reem, and the team at SumOfUs More information: The Senate’s push to overrule the FCC on net neutrality now has 50 votes, Democrats say, Washington Post, January 15, 2018.

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SumOfUs is a community of people from around the world committed to curbing the growing power of corporations. We want to buy from, work for and invest in companies that respect the environment, treat their workers well and respect democracy. And we’re not afraid to stand up to them when they don’t.

The FCC’s vote repealing its net neutrality rules is finally official. Here’s what happens now.
By Brian Fung February 22 Email the author

The FCC's net neutrality vote has finally been published in the Federal Register, the government's official record of all administrative actions. The moment is key, because it kicks off the next phase of the fight over the future of the Internet. Here's what to expect.

In December, the Federal Communications Commission voted to repeal its net neutrality rules for Internet providers — a move aimed at deregulate the industry and allow companies such as AT&T and Verizon to legally slow down websites, block apps and even charge content companies extra fees for priority access to consumers' screens. (None of this has occurred so far; not only must the substance of the new rules take effect, but many Internet providers say they aren't interested in blocking or slowing websites, while critics of the industry have said it would be too obvious to try that type of behavior right out of the gate.)

[This crafty tactic may let states get around the FCC on net neutrality]

Until now, opponents of the FCC vote have talked a big game about taking the agency to court, in hopes of overturning the decision. They have also sought to build momentum for a congressional resolution to force the FCC to take back its vote and restore the old net neutrality rules.

Both initiatives needed to wait until the decision was published in the register before they could move forward. Now that it's officially out for review, that can happen. (To be clear, the publication in the Federal Register enables Congress and the public to take action, but the substance of the new rules won't go into effect until the FCC takes care of some additional paperwork.)

This is what comes next: First, Senate lawmakers who supported net neutrality rules now have 60 legislative days to find one Republican who's willing to break ranks with his or her party and support the resolution under the Congressional Review Act, or CRA. They already have 50 votes, including all Democratic senators and one Republican, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine. But they need 51 votes to pass the measure.

Sixty legislative days is not the same as 60 calendar days, due to the way Congress's work schedule operates. But it's nevertheless a relatively short window in which lawmakers may seek to block the FCC. The resolution faces long odds; analysts say it's unlikely to come to a vote in the House and that even if it somehow passed that chamber, President Trump is almost certain not to sign it. Still, critics of the FCC say, the measure would force lawmakers to pick a side, during a campaign year, on an issue on which Americans are generally united.

“The FCC and Chairman [Ajit] Pai just triggered a timeline that will culminate in a Senate vote on my resolution, and we cannot let up until we win,” said Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), who is leading the CRA effort.

Meanwhile, those seeking to challenge the FCC in court will now be filing their lawsuits. Many of them are likely to come within the next 10 days, said Harold Feld, senior vice president of the consumer advocacy group Public Knowledge. “All petitions filed in the first 10 days are considered to be filed simultaneously,” he said. Indeed, on Thursday a number of groups filed petitions challenging the FCC, including Public Knowledge, the California Public Utilities Commission, and a group of 22 state attorneys general led by New York.

There's a reason for the rush: The next few days will be critical for determining which federal appeals court actually hears the case against the FCC. In these situations, the venue is selected by a lottery, and the output of the lottery is determined by which courts have received a lawsuit on the issue. Among the courts already in the mix are the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit as well as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

There's an element of strategy involved here. Some courts are considered friendlier to industry; others not. So both sides of the net neutrality issue — even those who supported the FCC's December vote — have an incentive to ask for court review. Those who opposed the FCC vote will file their lawsuits in courts where they believe they have a good shot at winning. The same goes for those on the other side of the issue. Then the lottery will decide which court hears the case.

So that's what's on deck for the next few weeks as the net neutrality fight heats up again.

Correction: A previous version of this story suggested that the FCC's new net neutrality policy will go into effect on April 23. In fact, that date remains uncertain as additional paperwork must be completed before an effective date can be set.

Brian Fung covers technology for The Washington Post, focusing on telecommunications, Internet access and the shifting media economy. Before joining The Post, he was the technology correspondent for National Journal and an associate editor at the Atlantic.

  Follow @b_fung

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