Senators Asking FCC to Delay Net Neutrality Vote

Citing concerns over the possibility that fake comments will be used to file the agency's public comment, twenty-eight senators are calling on the FCC to delay it's vote on repealing net neutrality rules that were put in place during the Obama Administration.

Via The Hill:

The group, led by Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), wants the FCC to conduct an investigation into whether the net neutrality docket’s public comment record was tampered with. 

“A free and open Internet is vital to ensuring a level playing field online, and we believe that your proposed action may be based on an incomplete understanding of the public record in this proceeding,” the senators wrote in a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. “In fact, there is good reason to believe that the record may be replete with fake or fraudulent comments, suggesting that your proposal is fundamentally flawed.” 

The group included Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). All of the senators who signed the letter are net neutrality supporters. 

The FCC will vote on Dec. 14 to scrap the Obama-era rules that prevent internet service providers from discriminating against certain content. The agency was flooded nearly 22 million comments, a record, when it sought public input on Pai’s plan to repeal the rules.
The letter cited New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s investigation into fake comments filed with the FCC on net neutrality. Schneiderman said last month that his office had found that “tens of thousands” of New York residents may have been impersonated by fake commenters. 

The senators also noted that 50,000 net neutrality consumer complaints may not have been included in the public record.

Hopefully the FCC will listen to the senators and delay the vote. Many people are rightfully up in arms over this. The idea of net neutrality is to keep the internet free, and not allow ISP's to charge you extra to view the content you want to see.

Here is a pretty funny infographic explaining it via Imgur from back in July:

What do you think about this? Are you for or against net neutrality? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments!