The U.S. Senate voted by a 52-47 margin to overturn the Federal Communication Commission’s Restoring Internet Freedom Order, which scuttled net neutrality. The Republican-controlled FCC pursued this position in spite of strong popular support for net neutrality. All 49 Democrats voted in favour of overturning the decision, as well as Republicans Susan Collins, John Kennedy, and Lisa Murkowski.
There is still a long shot that net neutrality will be reinstated as it will require the Republican-controlled House to use the CRA to overturn the FCC’s policy. This would require the support of every Democrat and 22 Republicans. If this hurdle was overcome, the bid to overturn will still fall to a signature from U.S. President Donald Trump.
In any case, forcing the issue to the House stakes a key battle ahead of the November midterms. The Democrats have managed to lose ground in crucial races as the Republicans have shored up support on the back of the legislative win on tax reform, and are also riding the wave of a strong domestic economy.
The top domain registrars, including GoDaddy Inc. (NYSE:GDDY) and Tucows Inc. (TSX:TC)(NASDAQ:TCX), were bitterly opposed to the Restoring Internet Freedom Order. GoDaddy was particularly active in the campaign, warning that the FCC action could split the internet into “fast lanes and slow lanes”, with telecoms potentially being given free hand to throttle content in favour of big business. Shares of GoDaddy have climbed 40.5% in 2018 so far.
