The U.S. House voted Friday to repeal Federal Communications Commission rules spelling out how the owners of broadband networks must treat other providers of Internet content.
The s0-called "network neutrality" rules, had they not been overturned, would have blocked cable and phone companies from interfering with their competitors' ability to deliver content via their broadband networks.
The House voted mostly along party lines, 240 in favor of repealing the FCC rules to 179 against. Six Democrats, including Clayton County's David Scott and Sanford Bishop, a conservative "Blue Dog" from southwest Georgia, joined the GOP majority in rolling back the rules.
Rep. Tom Graves, from north Georgia, co-sponsored the bill, saying it stifled business.
"According to business owners in my district, the number one roadblock to job growth and economic expansion are the many burdensome regulations imposed by government," he said in a statement.
The FCC said the rules were necessary to prevent phone and cable companies from limiting the content that is available to online users -- particularly content, like Skype or Netflix, that are in direct competition with the providers' core cable and phone operations.
But Graves said those concerns are unfounded. "They have no proof of abuse in the marketplace, and no justification for imposing these regulations," he said.
The vote was conducted while House and Senate leaders continued budget negotiations seeking to avert a government shutdown.
The bill now will go to the Senate for consideration.
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