Today, Senator Edward Markey (D-MA), Representative
Henry Waxman (D-CA), and Representative Anna Eshoo (D-CA), along with a strong
coalition of Congressional Members, introduced a bill geared to restore the
Open Internet Rules of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that were
recently struck down by the DC Circuit Court of Appeals and remanded to the
FCC. The bill, H.R. 3982, would ensure that consumers are
protected with these rules until the FCC takes action in response to the court
decision.
The following statement can be attributed to
Christopher Lewis, Vice President, Government Affairs:
“Public Knowledge applauds these
Members of Congress on their leadership in quickly crafting this legislation.
The bill is a strong statement of support for open Internet rules. High level,
basic open Internet rules, often referred to as net neutrality rules, protect
consumers by ensuring we all have equal access to any content online. Without
these rules, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) would limit new innovation and
competitive services online and harm the growth of the Internet economy. Some
ISPs have made it clear that in the absence of these rules, they plan to
implement business models that will harm online innovation and potentially
place tolls or barriers on online content.
“The decision by the DC Circuit Court left a great deal of uncertainty for
the Internet economy. The bill ensures that consumers and businesses are
protected during this period of uncertainty between the Court’s decision and
the FCC’s action in response to the court’s remand. It is critical that the FCC
acts quickly in response to the DC Circuit Court to protect an open Internet as
we have always known it. They have clear authority to act and this bill
provides protection for consumers while they deliberate.”
Members of the media may contact Communications Director Shiva Stella with inquiries, interview requests, or to join the Public Knowledge press list at shiva@publicknowledge.org or 405-249-9435.