Net neutrality has lost some of its support since the Federal Communications Commission announced plans to “abandon” the Obama-era regulations on internet service providers.
A poll from Morning Consult and Politico released on Wednesday found that 52 percent of voters support net neutrality, compared with 18 percent who say they don’t support the regulations.
The findings indicate an 8 percent decline in support for the rules since the pollsters’ prior survey in June, when there was 60 percent approval for net neutrality. That survey found that 17 percent of voters opposed the regulations.
The issue is one of the few that cuts across party lines. Among registered voters, 55 percent of Democrats and 53 percent of Republicans support net neutrality.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in a statement last week that the current rules, which prevent internet service providers from blocking or manipulating connection speeds to specific online content, represent a “failed approach” to regulating the internet.
Despite the change in polling results, Morning Consult says the research suggests net neutrality “has not captured the nation’s attention.”
Kyle Dropp, Morning Consult’s co-founder and chief research officer, said that only 46 percent of Americans “say they have heard a lot or some about net neutrality recently,” compared to 67 percent for tax reform. Meanwhile, seven in 10 said they have heard about sexual misconduct allegations against Roy Moore, a candidate for the Senate in Alabama, or Minnesota Senator Al Franken.
The poll surveyed 1,994 registered voters between Nov. 21 and Nov. 25. Here’s what respondents were asked:
“As you may know, net neutrality is a set of rules adopted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) which say Internet Service Providers (ISPs) such as Comcast, Time Warner, AT&T, and Verizon, cannot block, throttle or prioritize certain content on the Internet. Knowing this, do you support or oppose net neutrality?”
Source: Tech CNBC
Net neutrality loses support after FCC proposal to scrap Obama-era rules: Poll