Donald Trump Jr. implied that people who oppose the net neutrality repeal just don’t understand it, and um, no
After the FCC voted to repeal net neutrality yesterday, December 14th, the internet was shocked. But, according to the president’s son, there’s no reason to oppose the repeal. Donald Trump Jr. belittled the outrage following the net neutrality repeal, saying that critics didn’t understand the issue.
“I would pay good money to see all those people complaining about Obama’s FCC chairman voting to repeal #NetNeutality actually explain it in detail,” Trump wrote on December 14th. “I’d also bet most hadn’t heard of it before this week. #outrage.”
Trump’s comments were retweeted more than 7,000 times and racked up more than 26,000 comments.
Trump’s tweet demonstrates that he himself doesn’t entirely understand what happened yesterday. Although FCC Chairman Ajit Pai was indeed appointed to the commission by President Barack Obama, President Donald Trump was the one who made him chairman.
Net neutrality refers to the regulations put in place by the Obama administration to prevent internet service providers from blocking, throttling, or prioritizing legal content on the internet. Opponents of the net neutrality repeal argue that eliminating these regulations would cause the internet to be divided into fast lanes and slow lanes or allow service providers to charge certain websites more money to function.
I would pay good money to see all those people complaining about Obama’s FCC chairman voting to repeal #NetNeutality actually explain it in detail. I’d also bet most hadn’t heard of it before this week. #outrage
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) December 15, 2017
Although Trump tweeted that most hadn’t heard of net neutrality since last week, critics of the repeal have actually been talking about this for months. The host of the HBO series Last Week Tonight, John Oliver, released a second segment about the importance of maintaining net neutrality in May, after his 2015 segment caused viewers to crash the FCC website by flooding it with comments. The American Library Association has also spoken out against the repeal, issuing a statement in May about their desire to keep the internet free and open.
And in 2014, 20 prominent companies including Amazon, Netflix, Facebook, Lyft, and Twitter signed a letter urging the FCC not to gut net neutrality. What’s more, a recent poll from the University of Maryland’s Program for Public Consultation found that 83 percent of voters wanted to keep net neutrality.
Twitter users were swift to point out Trump’s errors.
Your dad tipped the balance on the FCC commission when he nominated Carr and made Pai the chair. Obama only nominated Pai because 2/5 seats must be given to the minority party (which is why your dad nominated Rosenworcel). You should be embarrassed that you don't know this.
— Derek DeVries (@derekdevries) December 15, 2017
First, You misspelled #NetNeutrality, you genetically altered butternut squash. Second, you don't know the value of a dollar, you silver-spoon snickerdoodle. Third, sunshine, Reaganomics is like DeLorean. It was sexy in the 80s, but I didn't work then and much less now.
— Tony Chacon (@TheTonyChacon) December 15, 2017
Prior to the proliferation of high speed Internet there wasn't much need to enforce neutrality, and once it became prevalent in the early '00s the FCC assumed ISPs would largely avoid discriminating among traffic. Well, that wasn't the case but the methods of doing so were
— Christmas (Bobby please come home) (@BobbyBigWheel) December 15, 2017
You’d be wrong, Jun. And why are you referring to Pai as “Obama’s” when it was your Daddy who elevated him to his current role? Also, you must be limiting yourself to very selective information if you’re unaware that WE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS FOR MONTHS. #ShutYourPAIHole
— Erin Altman (@AltmanErin) December 15, 2017
So, um, yeah, while Google is free you should use it to see who appointed him.
— Amanda Jo (@imamandajo) December 15, 2017
In short, net neutrality’s supporters definitely know what they’re talking about, and they have for a while. Those opposed to the repeal include politicians, celebrities, corporations, and normal civilians. Hopefully, the younger Trump will check the facts the next time he tweets.
