The US Senate votes on Wednesday, May 16th, on whether to reject the FCC repeal of net neutrality. The vote seems very close. Please contact your senators and urge them to vote for the Resolution of Disapproval under the Congressional Review Act. Go to BattleForTheNet.com to take action. KZ
Today, 85 companies urged Congress to pass a measure (S.J.Res. 52) that uses the Congressional Review Act to retain the net neutrality rules that the Federal Communications Commission repealed six months ago. The companies, organized by New America’s Open Technology Institute, include many high-growth businesses in a broad cross-section of industries, such as Yelp, Warby Parker, Sonos, ADT, Etsy, and Vimeo.
“Congress should protect the internet by passing a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act, thereby restoring strong net neutrality rules at the federal level,” the companies wrote in a letter to congressional leadership. The Senate is expected to vote on the measure on Wednesday.
Sarah Morris, Director of Open Internet Policy at New America’s Open Technology Institute, said, “Strong rules that protect an open internet ensure that business owners and consumers can reach one another without harmful manipulation or demands for payment from internet service providers. The principles of net neutrality have fostered economic growth and helped sustain businesses small and large. Congress should heed the advice of these businesses, and ensure that enforceable rules of the road remain for internet users.”
Letter to Congressional Leaders
Dear Leader McConnell, Leader Schumer, Speaker Ryan, and Leader Pelosi:
We strongly support a free and open internet. In 2015, the Federal Communications Commission passed essential net neutrality rules. Those rules afforded companies and consumers protections from harmful and discriminatory practices by internet service providers (ISPs). The FCC’s recent Order repealed these protections in full. We urge Congress to use the Congressional Review Act to reverse this serious misstep.
The repeal of open internet protections threatens the very foundation of the internet. Since its inception, the success of the internet has been predicated on an architecture of openness and innovation. Consumers have controlled what they see and do online, and entrepreneurship and the arts have flourished. Businesses have had the freedom to innovate online, without seeking permission from ISPs. But instead of protecting the online free market, the FCC has abandoned its long history of net neutrality protections and left consumers and businesses without essential protections for their lives and work online.
Our customers and users understand the importance of strong net neutrality protections. Polls show that the FCC’s repeal was tremendously unpopular with the American people. In a recent University of Maryland poll, an overwhelming 83% of respondents favored the 2015 rules, while only 16% favored their repeal. This sentiment is bipartisan. Among Democrats, 89% favored the 2015 rules, with only 11% favoring their repeal. And among Republicans, 75% favored the 2015 rules, with only 21% favoring their repeal.
The repeal of the FCC’s net neutrality rules puts the internet economy, innovation, consumer choice, and job creation at risk. Congress should protect the internet by passing a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act, thereby restoring strong net neutrality rules at the federal level.
Sincerely,
1Huddle
Atlassian, Inc.
ADT
AlleyCorp
Artsy
Beeswax
Bitly
Brooklyn Bridge Ventures
Calibrater Health
Chartbeat
Cogent Communications
Concourse Markets, Inc.
Contextly
CredSimple
Dame Products
DART Technologies
Data Foundry
Doorport Inc.
Elucd
Emissary
Empatico
Etsy
Foursquare
Frame.ai
General Assembly Space
GigaNews
The Glass Files
Golden Frog
GrowComputer
Harry’s
Haute Hijab
Hometeam
Hive
HXMXN, Inc.
Hyr
Imgur
Instinctive
Jewelbots
Justworks
Kard Financial, Inc.
Kindred Partners
Lilu
Mapbox
Medium
MetaPrep NYC
Minibar Delivery
Moved
Netomat
OnDeck
Pico
Pinterest
Popwallet
The Pride
Quovo
Reddit, Inc.
Redfin
Relay
RUBIS
ScriptEd
Shapeways, Inc.
Shutterstock
Simon Data
Snaps Media
Sonos
Spell
Stealth Communications
Teampay
TechHub
Techstars
TripAdvisor
Troops
Tumblr
Twilio
UAO Consulting
UGE Labs
UrbanLogiq
Vimeo
Warby Parker
WayUp
Wellthy
WiredScore
Women 2.0
Yelp
Zocdoc
Zola