Countering an “intense lobbying campaign” by the telephone
and cable industry, 28 public interest groups today sent a letter to the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) expressing their “strong
support” for the Commission’s proceeding that will
“ensure an open and non-discriminatory Internet.”
“Since its creation, the Internet was intended to be a medium
controlled by users, not by network access providers. As a result, it has
become the most democratic medium this country, and the world, has ever
known,” the letter said, adding: “The open Internet has
generated billions of dollars in investment, by network operators and
Web-based companies, opening up new opportunities for consumers while
creating thousands of jobs.”
The proceeding the FCC has announced will bring certainty through rules
that will preserve the open Internet the letter said, adding: “Over
the past two weeks, the largest telephone and cable companies have
launched an intense lobbying campaign to oppose meaningful rules using
dire yet vague predictions of doom if the FCC acts to preserve the
Internet’s traditional openness. This outcry over a proposal the
public has yet to see is clearly intended to halt the dialogue over the
proper rules of the road for an open Internet before it even starts. We
urge you to continue with the process you have set out.”
A copy of the letter is here.
Signatories include the country’s largest consumer groups and
public interest advocacy groups such as Common Cause and Change Congress
in addition to organizations focusing on telecommunications policy.
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.