Last week we reported that the Federal Communications Commission had pushed back its next public meeting from Sept. 16 to Sept. 23, citing “scheduling issues.”
A group of Representatives from the U.S. Congress have sent the FCC a letter to keep the pressure on for net neutrality. Representatives Ed Markey (D-MA), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Mike Doyle (D-PA) and Jay Inslee (D-WA), all of whom are members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, sent FCC chair Julius Genachowski the letter.
Net neutrality talks brokered by the FCC broke down last week. The talks included Google, Comcast, Verizon and other ISPs and wireless companies. They broke down after Verizon and Google proposed their own agreement, which some believe to be a step back, due to very vague language and possible loopholes.
Calling the Internet “the most successful communications and commercial medium in history, the letter calls for a “commonsense non-discrimination requirement without loopholes.”
The representatives warn that paid prioritization would damage the Internet and caution against the temptation of using the Google-Verizon agreement as a starting point.
“The recent proposal by Google and Verizon of an industry-centered net neutrality policy framework reinforces the need for resolution of the current open proceedings at the Commission to ensure the maintenance of an open Internet. Rather than expansion upon a proposal by two large communications companies with a vested financial interest in the outcome, formal FCC action is needed. The public interest is served by a free and open Internet that continues to be an indispensable platform for innovation, investment, entrepreneurship, and free speech.”
The letter is available in full on Rep. Inslee’s site.
