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Sen. Ron Wyden explains the “nightmare scenario” of no net neutrality

Before Sen. Ron Wyden knew for sure that the Federal Communications Commission would kill net neutrality on Thursday, he still thought the repeal was a bad idea.

Before Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden knew for sure that the Federal Communications Commission would kill net neutrality on Thursday, he thought the repeal was a really bad idea.

“The nightmare scenario is there would be even less competition than there already is and consumers would just get clobbered with fewer choices and higher prices,” Wyden, who's been outspoken about the issue, told VICE News on Wednesday. “This is what the big cable companies have always wanted.”

President Obama had enacted the rules in 2015 to level the playing field for consumers by mandating that internet providers couldn't slow down the internet or charge more for certain types of content. But Trump-appointee and FCC Chairman Ajit Pai had said that rolling back restrictions would eventually provide consumers a wider variety of service options.

Wyden, however, worries about how a lack of oversight will change the way Americans use the internet. “Trickle-down telecommunications,” he said, won’t be effective in helping low-income consumers.