Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), one of the Congress' most vocal supporters of network neutrality and critics of big media, has come out strongly against FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's proposal to roll back Title II.
In comments to the FCC--the deadline for initial comments on the proposal was July 17--Franken said the proposal would "dismantle the internet as we know it."
Franken told the FCC commissioners in a letter filed in the net neutrality docket that Title II treats the Internet "as the telecommunications service that it is" and is the only way to establish strong net neutrality rules.
The Pai proposal, in addition to reversing the Title II reclassification in the 2015 Open Internet order, asks whether the bright-line rules are necessary. Franken certainly thinks so.
He says the current rules against blocking, throttling and paid prioritization are vital protections.
"The FCC is now weighing the rare decision for which the easier choice is also the right one—the FCC must maintain and fully enforce the important, court-tested rules that are already in place. I urge you to respect the political process and the voices that made themselves so abundantly clear in 2014."
