Public Comment

On December 14, the FCC will vote to roll back current Net Neutrality protections, including Title ii oversight over Internet Service Providers (ISPs.) This will not only allow ISPs more leeway in raising their prices, but it will also – and more troublingly – allow them to control your access to content on the internet. It will be at their discretion to decide which websites are available, which streaming services load faster or slower, and which news sources they will allow you to see. In effect, this will be the end of the free and open internet we have become accustomed to. 

Congress needs to step in and demand that the FCC abandon their plans to roll back these consumer protections. The goal of the FCC is to enforce America’s communications laws and regulations in the public’s best interest. The public spoke out in record numbers, with 98.5% of unique public comments supporting Title ii protections and strongly opposing the FCC’s plan to undo Net Neutrality. 

A free, open communication network is a utility meant to benefit us and should be governed as such. Net Neutrality and Title ii protections keep major ISPs operating in the best interest of the public. Everyone benefits from an open internet; open communication means free exchange of ideas, virtually unlimited access to news and knowledge and above all else, a freedom for everyone to express themselves on an equal footing, with equal voices and access across the globe. 

Rolling back Net Neutrality is anti-consumer. It is anti-innovation. It is anti-American. Make no mistake, major ISPs do not have the public’s best interest in mind. This is a clear example of Regulatory Capture – a governing body meant to act in public interest has turned to advancing the interests of businesses, which will invariably lead towards a slowing of innovation and an erosion of freedom. 

Information is power. Rolling back Net Neutrality will limit our access to information and hand control of the modern free press over to major corporations seeking to advance their own agendas and pocketbooks. A developed society must never impede free access to information or the free exchange of ideas. We should be urging innovation and development to thrive, not limiting our ability better ourselves. 

Our elected officials must step in to protect the people they are meant to represent. Regardless of where you stand politically, we can all agree on the need to share ideas freely. Millions of people told the FCC exactly that during their public comment period, a point that FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is choosing to ignore in favor of the four major ISPs. Congress must step in and demand that the FCC put an end to their efforts to erode our freedom, ensure Title ii oversight is kept in place and get back to protecting public interest. We are calling on Congress to step in and enforce the voice of the people.