Markey to Protest FCC Vote at Commission Headquarters

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), one of the most vocal supporters of the current Open Internet rules, plans to attend a rally outside FCC headquarters May 18 in advance of the planned vote on launching the process to roll back Title II.

That is according to a spokesperson in Markey's office.

Groups planning to attend include American Civil Liberties Union, the Center for Media Justice, Color Of Change, Common Cause, CREDO Action, Demand Progress, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Faithful Internet, Fight for the Future, Free Press Action Fund and the National Hispanic Media Coalition.

CREDO Action said it has gotten 192,000 signatures on a petition "urging FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to 'preserve the FCC’s Title II authority to protect the internet,'" and more than 2,700 members have placed calls to Pai and Republican Commissioner Michael O'Rielly's offices.

Among those scheduled to speak at the rally is former FCC Chairman Michael Copps.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.