Today, Federal Communications Commission Chairman (FCC) Ajit Pai testified before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation. Chairman Pai unsurprisingly faced questioning from Senate Democrats over the Restoring Internet Freedom Order, Pai’s flagship rulemaking which rolled-back onerous public utility-style regulations of internet service providers imposed by the previous administration.

The House and Senate are in session this week.

Recently, the economic disparity of the urban-rural divide has garnered substantial attention, especially as it relates to Internet and technological expansion. Rural economies suffer from a lack of Internet connectivity relative to urban areas, with rural adults being 10 percent less likely to have broadband or smartphones than urban adults.

The House and Senate are in session this week.

On behalf of our activist community, I urge you to contact your senators and ask them to cosponsor the Restoring Internet Freedom Act, S. 993, introduced by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah). The bill would repeal the Federal Communications Commission’s 2015 Open Internet Order, through which the agency claimed regulatory power over the Internet, designating Internet service providers (ISPs) as “common carriers” under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934.

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In a Tuesday morning letter to the Federal Trade Commission, a group of tech companies and advocates including the Center for Media Justice, Yelp, Pinterest, and Kickstarter have expressed concerned over the FCC’s application of net neutrality rules to zero-rating plans.