By Eric Stock
BLOOMINGTON – U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger said the net neutrality rules that the Federal Communications Commission has scrapped were ‘heavy handed,’ but the Channahon Republican said it’s time for Congress to enact permanent rules to protect consumers by banning providers from blocking lawful content.
Kinzinger said it will take a bipartisan approach to prevent large corporations from stifling innovation.
“We must also work together to prevent large corporations from stifling innovation, thought, or speech while also incentivizing investments in rural America, including areas in my district,” Kinzinger said.
Illinois plans to join a multi-state lawsuit to block net neutrality rules from being removed.
An information technology manager at Illinois State University said the federal government’s repeal of net neutrality means it’s only a matter of time before you will have to pay more for some online access.
Dean Plumadore, ISU Student Affairs Information Technology Project Manager, told WJBC’s Scott Laughlin
“I think we will be paying more, maybe not for Facebook because from a data consumption standpoint it’s not terribly burdensome on the backbone of the internet,” Plumadore said.
PODCAST: Listen to Scott’s interview with Plumadore on WJBC.
Democrat State Sen. Michael Hastings said no matter where you live, you want to have quick access the latest information on the web.
“In order for me to access a website online through my service provider, that could be slowed down just as much for somebody in Springfield as it is for somebody in Chicago, because everybody accesses the internet these days,” Hastings said.
Hastings called the FCC vote is a setback for small businesses in Illinois and may harm the start up and tech industry in the state.
Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].
