Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer said Friday he would force a vote on the Federal Communications Commission's move to repeal its net neutrality rules.

Schumer plans to use the same process Republicans have used to repeal pro-environment and other regulations put in place under former President Obama.

But Schumer and Democrats face an uphill battle; many Republicans in Congress favored the repeal.



The top Democrat in the US Senate said on Friday he would force a vote on the Federal Communications Commission's decision to repeal the 2015 landmark net neutrality rules.

Sen. Charles Schumer of New York said he would force a vote on the FCC action under the Congressional Review Act. Republicans scuttled internet privacy rules adopted by the FCC under the Obama administration using the same procedural vehicle.

"There will be a vote to repeal the rule that the FCC passed. It’s in our power to do that," Schumer said in New York. "Sometimes we don’t like them, when they used it to repeal some of the pro-environmental regulations, but now we can use the CRA to our benefit and we intend to."

This week’s FCC order grants internet providers sweeping new powers to block, throttle, or discriminate among internet content, but requires public disclosure of those practices. Internet providers have vowed not to change how consumers get online content. The FCC rules also seek to bar states from imposing their own net neutrality requirements.

The FCC said Monday the rules will take effect once the White House Office of Management and Budget approves the new transparency rules, which could take several months.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said Friday in a Fox News interview that "so much of the hysteria is simply misplaced." He added: "Going forward, the internet is going to speed up."

Republicans on Capitol Hill have largely praised the rollback of the rules. Many want Congress to pass legislation that would retain consumer protections but prevent future regulators from adopting internet pricing rules or other actions.