UPDATE: The Hill reports that the Republican run House, in a vote of 223-200, has approved Rep. Blackburn’s proposed fcc gutting amendment. It would still need Senate approval to become law, and will most likely be vetoed by the president still. Even so House Republicans are using this as a knife to kill network neutrality and any sort of protective regulatory actions for the internet now with a threat of possible government shutdown if they don’t get this bill passed.

The non-profit Washington, D.C.-based public digital citizen freedoms interest group Public Knowledge is rallying its supporters after learning that an amendment to the house version of the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill will try to block funding of FCC network neutrality rules. Congressional House representative Marsha Blackburn is trying to add an amendment to H.R. 5016, the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act.  The amendment would block the FCC from allowing  community broadband networks build out.  In several states and municipalities lobbyists for the telecom industry have even made municipal community broadband options illegal. Continue reading →