DNC offers ‘extra-slow mobile hotspot’ to mock Paul on Internet rules

The Democratic National Committee on Friday mocked 2016 presidential contender Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-Ky.) opposition to the Federal Communications Commission’s new net neutrality rules. 

{mosads}Playing off the novelty items Paul’s campaign is selling on his website, the DNC created a number of fake items to criticize his stance on everything from new Internet rules to immigration reform and religious freedom laws.  

One item is an “extra-slow mobile hotspot,” playing off the assertion that service providers could create so-called fast lanes and slow lanes for different content on the Internet without the FCC’s new regulations.

“Net neutrality is for the birds! (Which you’ll have a lot of time to observe while your Netflix loads using this Internet connection, since Rand Paul doesn’t believe in net neutrality). Get yours today, and simulate what life on the Internet would be like under a Paul administration,” the description of the mock device says. 

Get a sneak preview of internet under the Rand Paul administration: not free, not open, realllllllllllly slow: pic.twitter.com/wrdQJTY1Is

— The Democrats (@TheDemocrats) April 10, 2015

Republicans are almost universally against the FCC’s new rules that would reclassify broadband Internet access as a public utility similar to traditional telephones. The rules are meant to prevent service providers from prioritizing any bit of Internet traffic above another. 

Earlier this year, Paul said he is determined to keep “government out of the Internet,” saying it has worked well for the past two decades with limited regulation. 

He also expressed skepticism of government regulations to ban fast lanes, a major tenant of the FCC’s new rules. 

Observers have noted Paul’s stance on the issue could put him at odds with some donors in Silicon Valley, as he attempts to court younger and more technology-focused voters. 

Paul has not been as vocal in his opposition as some other GOP contenders, like Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who called the new rules “ObamaCare for the Internet.” Net neutrality does not show up on the Paul campaign’s issues Web page.

Cruz’s sharper focus could be a reflection that he sits on the Senate committee that has jurisdiction over the FCC, while Paul does not.