A Net Neutrality bill has been cosponsored by Congressman Steve Knight, R- Santa Clarita, one week after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to reverse the ruling to keep the internet “open.”

Knight joined as an original cosponsor of H.R. 4682, the “Open Internet Preservation Act” led by Representative Marsha Blackburn, R- Tennessee.

The bill would amend Title I of the Communications Act to prohibit broadband internet providers from blocking or impairing any lawful internet content, application, or service.

In addition, this bill would maintain transparency requirements adopted by the FCC and create a formal complaint procedure for the FCC to address allegations of violations in a timely fashion.

“An equal and open internet is vital to protect small business, foster innovation and deliver the best quality products and services to consumers. If you pay for a specific internet speed, you should be able to use that data transfer rate how you best see fit,” said Knight. “This bill will address many of the concerns I shared with Chairman Pai before last week’s vote. I want to thank Congresswoman Blackburn for her leadership in introducing this bill and I look forward to working with my colleagues to advance this into law.”

“We must stop this this political ping pong of changing internet rules from one administration to the other,” said Blackburn. “That is why I introduced the Open Internet Preservation Act. This bill will ensure there is no blocking and no throttling on the internet, and will make sure the internet is an open and fair marketplace. We need light-touch regulation, and stability for the internet.”

Under the former net neutrality rules, internet service providers are required to treat all online content the same, according to officials.

The ISPs were not allowed to deliberately speed up or slow down traffic from specific websites or apps, or put their own content at an advantage over rivals.

For example, Comcast could not choose to slow down a service like Netflix to make its own streaming video service more competitive, nor force Netflix to pay more money to be part of a so-called internet “fast lane.”

The FCC ruling Friday ends these Obama-era regulations, after a party-line vote within the Commission. The agency also eliminated a rule barring providers from prioritizing their own content, according to officials.

The Open Internet Preservation Act was introduced on Dec. 19, 2017 and was referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

As Santa Clarita’s only local radio station, KHTS mixes in a combination of news, traffic, sports, and features along with your favorite adult contemporary hits. Santa Clarita news and features are delivered throughout the day over our airwaves, on our website and through a variety of social media platforms. Our KHTS national award-winning daily news briefs are now read daily by 34,000+ residents. A vibrant member of the Santa Clarita community, the KHTS broadcast signal reaches all of the Santa Clarita Valley and parts of the high desert communities located in the Antelope Valley. The station streams its talk shows over the web, reaching a potentially worldwide audience. Follow @KHTSRadio on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and sign up for KHTS email and text alerts today!