On the recordMay 4, 2011
I rise today to talk about the effort of the House last month to repeal the Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality rules. Net neutrality is the very simple idea that all content and applications on the Internet should be treated the same regardless of who owns the content or the Web site. This is not a radical concept, in large part because it is what we see and experience every time we use the Internet. But the House wants to change all of that and effectively turn control of the Internet over to a handful of very powerful corporations. I want to take a few moments today to tell you why I think the House's vote was a mistake, and why I am going to do everything in my power to make sure we don't make the same mistake in the Senate. But before I get into those details, I think it is important to take a step back and talk about the Internet we have today. Let's be clear. The Internet we have exists because it is free and open, because we have always had net neutrality throughout the entire existence of the Internet. I have to give credit to my opponents on this issue who have done a masterful job of manipulating the American public into believing that net neutrality is something that it is not. Net neutrality is not about a government takeover of the Internet.…
