Today, Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk) denounced Republican State Senators in the General’s Assembly’s Energy and Technology Committee for killing Senate Bill 2, An Act Concerning Internet Service Providers and Net Neutrality Principles.
“After the Trump Administration moved to end net neutrality, I hoped that we in Connecticut could rise above politics to protect consumers and small businesses,” said Senator Duff. “States like Oregon and Washington have already passed net neutrality protections on a bipartisan basis. Unfortunately, Senate Republicans here in Connecticut chose to stand with big business and President Trump instead of the people of our state.”
Senator Duff introduced Senate Bill 2, which proposes charging the Public Utility Regulatory Authority with regulating the provisions of net neutrality and prohibiting internet service providers in Connecticut from throttling consumer internet speeds, blocking certain websites, or imposing prioritization pricing.
“Connecticut’s businesses, startups, students and consumers need an open internet,” Senator Duff continued. “I will continue to fight for a fair, open and accessible internet.”
During the Obama administration, the FCC voted to adopt strong, open internet rules to ensure that Americans reap the economic, social and civic benefits of an open internet, including the preservation of net neutrality.
Following the December 2017 announcement by the Federal Communications Commission that they were rolling back federal net neutrality rules, Senator Duff announced that he would introduce legislation during the 2018 legislative session of the General Assembly aimed at protecting Connecticut businesses and consumers.
Without net neutrality, internet providers will be able to control and decide which websites and content appear on the internet. That can slow competitors or block any political content with which they disagree. Internet Service Providers will also be able to charge extra money to support the content of the few companies that will be able to pay, which hurts small business and consumers.
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