Representative Ed Markey (D-MA) introduced a net neutrality billa> in Congress on Tuesday February 12, 2008. Representative Markey’s bill is a step on the road to restoring a non-discriminatory Internet. A few large corporate providers should not be in control of limiting access of users or content providers to the most expansive marketplace of ideas the world has ever known. We hope one day all Americans will be once again assured of the unhindered ability to say, view and read what we want online – be it a Rush Limbaugh podcast or a blog critical of President Bush. We hope to make the bill stronger. Corporate providers seem to be finding more and more reasons to impose restrictions on users and content providers.
The time for action is now. Blatant cases of censorship on the internet have mounted in recent years:
- Comcast blocking file-sharing services,
- AT&T censoring Pearl Jam’s lyrics criticizing the president
- AT&T adopting new terms of service that allow it to cut off service if the company disagrees with speech or association,
- Time Warner/AOL blocking a subscribed campaign critical of its network practices
- Verizon blocking text messages from NARAL Pro Choice America, etc.
These examples show we need to act now to protect free speech in the twenty-first century and beyond.
We commend Representative Markey for his ongoing leadership on the issue. If this bill is enacted, we will urge the Federal Communications Commission to take its mandate seriously and conduct an unbiased examination of Internet censorship and restrictions — and not to come to conclusions that favor corporate control over individual rights. We urge Congress and the executive branch to move toward a framework that assures unrestricted access and use of the internet.
