US Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).

US Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) this weekfiled legislationshe calls the "Internet Freedom Act" to overturn the Federal Communications Commission's new network neutrality rules.

The FCC's neutrality rules prohibit Internet service providers from blocking or throttling Internet traffic, prohibit prioritization of traffic in exchange for payment, and require the ISPs to disclose network management practices.

These rules "shall have no force or effect, and the Commission may not reissue such rule in substantially the same form, or issue a new rule that is substantially the same as such rule, unless the reissued or new rule is specifically authorized by a law enacted after the date of the enactment of this Act," the Internet Freedom Act states.

The legislation has 31 Republican cosponsors.

Once the federal government establishes a foothold into managing how Internet service providers run their networks they will essentially be deciding which content goes first, second, third, or not at all," Blackburn said in an announcement yesterday. "My legislation will put the brakes on this FCC overreach and protect our innovators from these job-killing regulations.

In the latest election cycle, Blackburn received $25,000 from an AT&T political action committee (PAC), $20,000 from a Comcast PAC, $20,000 from a cable industry association PAC, and $15,000 from a Verizon PAC, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Blackburn'slegislation would also wipe out the FCC's decision to reclassify broadband as a common carrier service subject to some of the Title II obligations imposed on wireline telephone and mobile voice. But while Internet providers and some Republicans have claimed to support net neutrality rules while opposing Title II reclassification, this bill would not leave any network neutrality rules in place. That's not surprising, given that Blackburn has been trying to get rid of net neutrality rules for years.

Over the past year, Internet providers and Republicans have claimed that they are willing to accept the FCC enforcingnet neutrality rules without a Title II classification, even though the FCCdid just that in 2010 and still faced a lawsuit from Verizon. (Verizon won that lawsuit a year ago, forcing the FCC to reconsider how its net neutrality rules should be justified legally.) One Republican effortannounced in January would enforce a version of net neutralitywhile gutting the FCC's authority under Title II and Section 706, the latter of which was used by the FCC to preempt state laws that restrict municipal broadband projects. (Blackburn also filed legislationlast weekto overturn the municipal broadband decision.)

Blackburn's Internet Freedom Act wouldn't even enforce a weaker version of net neutrality, consistent with her past proposals. In 2011, she filed an"Internet Freedom Act" that would have struck down the FCC's original net neutrality rules that were enforced without a Title II reclassification.

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Republicans Internet Freedom Act would wipe out net neutrality