Hearings on the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court begin next week, and Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal says he’ll be questioning the judge on his views on net neutrality.
Last year a circuit court in Washington D.C. upheld Obama era guidelines on open internet rules, but in a dissent to the ruling, Kavanaugh said that net neutrality violates the First Amendment rights of Internet Service Providers, or ISPs.
On a conference call with reporters this week, Massachusetts Senator Edward Markey said that’s nonsense.
“ISPs don’t engage in speech. They are not speakers," he said. "Just because someone uses a soapbox doesn’t mean the soapbox has First Amendment rights.”
Markey and Blumenthal are among the lawmakers who are supporting a court challenge brought by several states, including Connecticut, against the Federal Communications Commission for abandoning net neutrality.
Blumenthal said Kavanaugh’s elevation to the Supreme Court would mean a lasting threat to open internet rules.
“Make no mistake, Judge Kavanaugh would cripple net neutrality, not just this year, not just this FCC, but for decades to come,” said Blumenthal.
