Even though the Senate voted last week to bring back net neutrality protections, Ohio’s Rob Portman is looking for another option. The Republican senator voted against the Democrat-backed bill, which is not expected to pass the House.
Now, Portman says he is considering supporting a similar bill by fellow Republican and South Dakota Sen. John Thune.
“(Take) the blocking, so-called throttling, the paid prioritization of internet traffic, that sort of stuff and put it into legislation. I talked to Sen. Thune about it in the past few weeks and he committed to me that he was going to move that legislation. He thinks we can be bipartisan,” he said.
Portman says he wants the solution to protect consumers and provide certainty for innovators.
“In the meantime, I don’t believe people will see any difference in terms of their internet, but I do think it will be good for investment in the internet and for consumers to get legislation in place,” he said.
Portman does not believe the solution should be left to the FCC, because it could mean changes with every new presidential administration.
