Senator Markey’s vision for the 1996 Telecommunications Act was inspired by a visit he made to his cousin’s elementary school classroom. When the then-Representative asked the students what they would like to improve in their school, the answer was unanimous: more computers. Because of these students, the 1996 Telecommunications Act included ground-breaking provisions that established the “E-rate” program for schools and libraries, bringing broadband to neighborhoods and students across the nation. Ed knows that no student should be left behind, and that equal access to technology and the Internet will help level the playing field for our children to succeed.

In 2005, Ed was the first legislator to introduce net neutrality legislation in the House of Representatives, and in 2017, this legislation came full circle as the Trump administration’s FCC voted to repeal net neutrality. Ed continues to lead the fight to ensure free and open internet for all, standing up to the big internet service providers so they don’t build fast lanes for those who can afford them, while the rest of us are left behind with slower speeds or blocked websites. Ed’s Save the Internet Act, which passed the House in April 2019, would overturn the FCC’s 2017 ruling.

Ed is also the Congressional champion for ensuring children’s online privacy and is the author of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, which would serve as the communications constitution for children’s internet privacy rules. With the increased use of technology and media by our kids, Ed knows the importance of studying the impact that technology is having on infants, children, and adolescents in core areas of cognitive, physical, and socio-emotional development.