Telecommunications, the Internet & Privacy

Senator Markey is a national leader on telecommunications and technology policy, passing legislation that helped lay the foundation for the digital revolution. In the House of Representatives, he co-authored the three landmark bills that ushered in a new era for communications, consumer choice and innovation – the 1992 Cable Act, the 1993 law that moved over 200 MHz of spectrum, and the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which established the “E-rate” rate for schools and libraries and the V-Chip for parental control of TV violence.


Competition is Senator Markey’s economic mantra. Accordingly, he has been instrumental in breaking up anti-consumer, anti-innovative monopolies in telephone service, cable television, and international satellite services. He was a principal author of the requirement that the Bell Operating companies accept local telephone service in the 1990s. His pro-competition policies have created jobs in Massachusetts and throughout the country. He is a champion for Net Neutrality and nondiscrimination on the Internet and for new sources of effective competition to cable TV franchises, telephone operators, and other wireless services. 
He also is the champion for stronger online privacy protections, especially for children. In 1999 Senator Markey co-founded the Bi-Partisan Congressional Privacy Caucus, which aims to educate members of Congress and staff on matters of privacy. 
 
More News »