DNC Chair Tom Perez released the following statement in response to the FCC vote to begin the process of rolling back net neutrality regulations:

“No surprise that Donald Trump’s handpicked FCC appointee would cast the deciding vote to start rolling back net neutrality protections. These historic protections ensure that the Internet will remain free and open as it always has been – without heavy-handed restrictions that give cable and phone companies the right to discriminate against what content and information Americans can access.

Republicans don’t seem to care about a free and open internet and the only thing transparent about their position is their clear desire to hand over the keys to the big telecom companies who bankroll their election bids. This is yet another attack on our right to free speech and right to privacy, and one that could pave the way for broadband companies that continue underserving low-income communities.

Democrats oppose any attempt by the GOP and the FCC to destroy the net neutrality safeguards set into place by President Obama. Americans have a right to an open internet without their access stymied by gatekeepers.”